Calhoun County Senate Candidate Comments on Senator Del Marsh’s (R-12) sponsorship of Senate Bill 140, “Parent’s Choice”

Senator Marsh has again sponsored a divisive bill he hopes can be pushed through the Alabama Legislature.

Marsh has attacked the public education system persistently since becoming leader of the Senate in 2010. One of the ethics laws that year resulted in the average teacher being afraid to take an apple from his or her students for fear of an ethics violation.

Senator Marsh was instrumental in developing divisions in teacher retirement that limited what new teachers and their retirement plan could save, without giving a wage raise.

Marsh sponsored the Alabama Accountability Act that set up tax benefits for people that help fund private school scholarships. Former Governor Bob Riley was tapped to run this through a Florida organization that received taxpayer funds to award private school scholarships. Marsh returned in 2017 to try and invigorate the program but was denied by the Republican House.

In 2016, Marsh sponsored the PREP Act, which grew out of a previous proposal called the RAISE ACT. PREP would have increased the years for tenure from three to five for teachers and required evaluations of teachers in a format the State chose. In addition, the RAISE Act would have created a new track for teachers where they could make more money if they refused tenure.

In 2019, the Legislature delivers monies to a charter school consultant in the hundreds of thousands. Also in 2019, the consultant “New Schools for Alabama” receives a $25,000,000 award from the US Department of Education.

In 2022, Senate bill 140 is introduced and described by Marsh himself as the ‘mother of all school choice bills’.

Senator Marsh has spent his leadership time attacking those responsible for educating Alabama’s kids. If as much energy had gone into bettering public education, where would we be?

SB 140 as introduced:

The bill as introduced has a feel of handing out money from the trust fund, and the state washing its hands. Senator Marsh has taken to the press to remind us education is flush with pandemic money, and due to pent-up spending in our economy, the Education Trust Fund has excess cash. He is arguing for a reason to loot the ETF. Alabama is not immune from budget crises in the future.

New Schools for Alabama:

This non-profit was set up in 2013 after the Alabama Accountability Act was passed. It was known then as Alabama Coalition for Public Charter Schools. They changed the name in 2019. This organization neatly fits with the “Parents Choice Act”. ‘New Schools’ is one of three anti-public education groups in the US to receive a $25,000,000 grant from Betsy Devos’ US Department of Education in 2019. The purpose of this seed money was for the federal government to help establish 15 charter schools in Alabama. ‘New Schools’ business model appears dependent upon successful passage of Marsh’s Senate Bill 140. It’s estimated that $6,300 will be taken out of the ETF for every child that homeschools, goes to a charter school, or inevitably is in private school. Marsh conceded an initial minimum cost to the trust fund of $420 million. Those estimates have been revised upward to $537 million. This Act could take out up to $1 billion from the ETF in 3-4 years. This would disrupt all of public education and the cracks kids fall through will become wider.

Ramifications for Local Districts:

As money is peeled away from funding community schools hard decisions will have to be made. Community schools will still be required to adhere to education standards that SB140 will exempt charters. Del Marsh calls it competition. With the education system put on the defensive year after year, the losers in his competition will be the kids of middle-income parents and the most vulnerable.

Work to be done:

Two things are missing from SB140. Transparency and accountability. Government nor any non-profit can excel without either. Transparency of operations is in the public interest. These are Alabama’s kids. Accountability is to the citizens, taxpayers, parents, and kids. New Schools of Alabama is ready with the Alabama Legislature’s funding and the US Department of Education’s $25,000,000. All they need is for Senator Marsh to deliver his legislation allowing charter operators to pillage the public education trust fund.