[johnnyd]

This is typically what happens, the public schools improve.

No they don't. Charter schools that get to cherry pick their student's improve. Failing public schools have very little to do with competition. If charter schools are such a good thing, so innovative, etc why not make all ky schools charter schools and allow them to play by their rules?The failure of schools first starts at home with the breakdown of the family, then extends to the court system that cannot deal with the student issues and also has a lot to do with now the influx of technology that parents use and let cripple their kids. No to mention that everything in he system changes every 4 years due to politics. Now imagine your job changing basically every system that you use every 4 years and you see the problems that you have. Public schools never get "good" at anything because it is always changing. Schools are an easy target in a society that everyone needs someone to blame. I have been around education now for about 30 years and there have been no less than 20 system changes I have been through. How can you be successful if your changing stuff all that time? I could go on and on. Look at your most successful programs.... what do they have in common? Most of the time it's stability in some shape form or fashion. That's what's missing from education. Not a different type of school. To be real honest you have been hoodwinked. This was all just a ploy to get your tax dollars to pay for religious schools under disguise along with a list of schools that make money for profit. It will all be clear before too long.