WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 5, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 36
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Charter
School
Profits
BUMBER
SHOOT
Charter initiative
would open doors to
school privatization
By Donna Gordon Blankenship
The Associated Press
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Seattle native Evan Flory-Barnes
played with his band Skerik’s
Bandalabra, at the 41st Annual
Bumbershoot Festival over the Labor
Day weekend. The popular festival,
known for its music, also features
comedy, theatre, visual arts and the
literary arts. This year’s big musical
attractions included Tony Bennett,
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and
Gotye.
New Effort for Immigrants’ Tuition
Observers say cutbacks mean the effort faces an uphill battle
By Manuel Valdes
The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — With the
federal government giving
young illegal immigrants
brought to the U.S. as children a
chance to stay in the country,
advocates in Washington state
are relaunching efforts to open
state financial aid to college stu-
dents who don’t have docu-
ments.
``Now these kids can live and
work here without fear of depor-
tation,’’ said Ricardo Sanchez,
chairman of the Latino/a Educa-
tional Achievement Project, the
main group behind the effort.
``The financial aid makes more
sense.’’
But Sanchez faces an uphill
battle in Olympia.
The state’s financial aid pot —
the needs grant program — is
already strained after years of
economic woes and rising
tuition costs. Despite lawmakers
providing additional money,
more students who qualify
aren’t getting aid because
demand keeps growing.
INDEX
News ........................2,3
Opinion ....................4,5
A&E .............................6
Books ..........................7
Bids/Classifieds............7
More so, state financial aid is
often tied with federal aid,
something that students who
qualify under the program can’t
apply for.
Add the reluctance by law-
makers, including conservatives
ones, and opposition from some
constituents to give financial aid
to students who entered the
country without proper docu-
mentation.
``The state is in the hole by
significant amounts of money.
We’re gonna give significant
resources to people who I think
were given illegally a legal sta-
tus,’’ said Bob West, chairman
of Grassroots of Yakima Valley,
a tea party group that started as
an organization to lobby for
strict immigration enforcement
in Olympia.
West, who three years ago tes-
tified against a similar bill, said
that expanding the eligibility
would act as further encourage-
ment for immigrants to come to
the country away from official
channels.
``I realize that families come
See TUITION on page 3
SEATTLE (AP) — Some of the most
successful charter school organizations in
the nation say they would like to open
schools in Washington state if voters
approve the charter initiative on the Novem-
ber ballot.
Rocketship Education, which runs some
of the top performing elementary schools in
California’s low-income areas, would love
to expand to Washington state, said Kristof-
fer Haines, vice president of national devel-
opment for the seven-school organization
started in San Jose, Calif., in 2006.
``We’re certainly interested and excited,’’
Haines said.
He added, however, that the process to
start a new school takes time. So even if
Washington voters decide to allow up to 40
public charter schools to open during the
next five years, the first Rocketship schools
probably couldn’t open in the state until
2016 or 2017, after a thorough process,
including approval by Washington authori-
ties.
Haines, who lives in Corvalis, Ore., and
was asked to look over Washington’s initia-
tive before it was proposed for the ballot,
said he has had his eye on the Seattle-Taco-
ma area for a long time.
Initiative 1240 would allow the independ-
ent public schools to be established in
Washington state for the first time. Voters
have rejected the idea three other times, in
1996, 2000 and 2004.
Under the terms of the initiative, any non-
profit organization could start a charter
school in Washington if their plan is
approved by either a new statewide com-
mission or a local school board that has
been authorized by the state school board to
approve charter schools.
The schools would need to be free and
open to all students just like traditional pub-
lic schools. They would receive public fund-
See CHARTERS on page 3
US Attorney Offers Internet Safety Tips
Cell phone sex tape spurs teaching moment for parents, kids
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — It was a parent’s — or
a principal’s — nightmare: Two underage
students in Des Moines agreed to have sex
at a party while others recorded it with their
cell phones.
The video spread quickly among the kids
at Mount Rainier High School last year, and
in addition to the potential harm to the cou-
ple involved, the episode became a distrac-
tion in the classroom — and prompted
considerations about whether those who
took and shared the video might face child
pornography charges.
The incident is the type Seattle’s top fed-
eral prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Jenny
Durkan, is hoping to prevent with a new
back-to-school Internet safety campaign.
Durkan has asked public and private ele-
mentary and middle schools throughout
Western Washington to send home a letter
from her with each student, accompanied by
tips for parents and children about how to
keep them out of trouble, whether the dan-
ger is online predators, bullying or unwise-
ly shared cell phone pictures.
See INTERNET on page 3