Local News
Charter
Soldiers, Civil Rights
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either the new statewide commission or a
local school board that has been authorized
by the state school board to approve charter
schools.
Out-of-state groups have offered to help
Washington make the tran-
sition toward becoming
the 42nd state with charter
schools.
``There's really been an
outpouring of support that
I couldn't have predicted,''
said Chris Korsmo, execu-
tive director of the League
of Education Voters, who
worked on the Yes on 1240
campaign and whose
group advocates for school
reform.
She called the idea of opening the first
charter school by fall 2013 a tall order and
probably missing the point of the initiative.
She said the goal is to insure the new
schools are of the highest quality and focus
on offering a great education to low income
and minority kids.
The League of Education Voters has heard
from parents, teachers and school leaders
who are interested in being involved in the
new schools, as well as from charter school
operators in other states, Korsmo said.
Robin Lake, director of the University of
Washington's Center on Reinventing Public
Education, and a national expert on charter
school research, said the most important
key to success for charters in Washington is
the 20 years of experience to draw on from
the 41 states that already allow the inde-
pendent schools.
The schools are most likely to succeed if
the authorizers focus on good performance
management, Lake said.
The commission and any school boards
that are allowed to authorize charters must
make sure the schools they approve have
more than just a good idea. They need to
have the ability to create a great education
programs, do effective planning, manage
their budget, roll out well and meet their
goals, she said.
``It takes commitment and on-the-ground
work after the law is implemented,'' she
said.
Finding a balance between regulations
and freedom for creativity helped lead char-
ters to success in other places, like Denver,
New York City and New Orleans, she said,
noting failures in states such as Arizona are
due to weak oversight and accountability.
The long-term goal is about improving
education for all kids and that can happen if
the people who run traditional and charter
public schools learn from each other, she
said. ``This is about more good schools. It's
not about charter schools.''
One significant hurdle is Superintendent
of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, who says
he may sue to stop the initiative from estab-
lishing a parallel department of education.
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
The commission will be made
up of nine members, three
appointed by the governor,
three by the president of the
Senate and three by the
speaker of the House
Tommie Lamb, president of the Washington Sam Bruce Chapter of the
Tuskegee Airmen, listens to Tosh Okamoto, a member of the 442nd
regimental combat team, the most decorated unit in the history of
American warfare, on Wednesday, Nov. 14. The men spoke at a
presentation at North Seattle Community College entitled “Leadership in
Uniform and Beyond: How the Military Service and Moral Leadership of
WWII Era Japanese American Veterans, Tuskegee Airman and other
Excluded-Americans Led to Civil Rights.” The event was moderated by
North Seattle Community College President Mark Mitsui, the son of a WWII
Nisei Veteran, whose family was incarcerated in the Heart Mountain, Wyo.,
internment camp.
Initiative 1240 was unconstitutional
because it would set up a separate school
system with a board that isn't elected by the
people, he said.
``It is clearly circumventing the constitu-
tion,'' he said, because the state constitution
established an elected superintendent of
public instruction to oversee all public
schools.
He has talked to the attorney general's
office and state lawmakers about his con-
cerns and hopes the Legislature will find a
way to fix the new law, but is willing to
bring a constitutional challenge all the way
to the Washington Supreme Court, if neces-
sary.
mines’’ their position of trust in the commu-
nity, said Victor Boutros, a Justice
Department attorney who helped prosecute
the case.
On March 18, 2006, police received a
report that a man matching Zehm’s descrip-
tion might have stolen money from people
at an ATM. Surveillance video showed that
Thompson found Zehm inside a conven-
ience store and immediately
struck him repeatedly with a
baton and shocked him with a
stun gun.
Other officers arrived and
hogtied Zehm, put a rubber
mask over his mouth, and sat on
him. It was later determined that
he had not committed any
crime.
His last words were: ``All I
wanted was a Snickers bar,’’ according to
trial testimony.
Anger boiled in the community over the
death, but the Spokane County prosecutor’s
office declined to bring charges against any
officers. Amid demands for justice, federal
prosecutors eventually charged Thompson
with violating Zehm’s civil rights through
use of excessive force and then lying to
investigators.
Prosecutors also alleged the case involved
an extensive cover-up by police. That inves-
tigation is ongoing.
Boutros said it was important to remem-
ber that Zehm, a mentally ill janitor, had
committed no crime.
``He was just going in as he always did to
buy his soda and his candy,’’ Boutros said.
Thompson’s actions warranted prison time,
he said.
``A badge cannot equate to a free pass,’’
Boutros said.
proceed with regulating pot and to refrain
from prosecuting people who comply with
the state
laws.
``These
states have
chosen to
move from
a drug pol-
icy
that
spends
millions of
dollars
turning ordinary Americans into criminals
toward one that will tightly regulate the use
of marijuana while raising tax revenue to
support cash-strapped state and local gov-
ernments,’’ the letter said. ``We believe this
approach embraces the goals of existing
federal marijuana
law: to stop inter-
national traffick-
ing, deter domestic
organized criminal
organizations, stop
violence associated
with the drug trade
and protect chil-
dren.’’
Proponents of the
marijuana measures welcomed the letter
and DeGette’s legislation, which would
amend the Controlled Substances Act to
clarify that it shall not pre-empt state mari-
juana laws.
``It’s fantastic to see congressional repre-
sentatives move decisively to respect the
will of the voters and facilitate the funda-
mental reformation of our marijuana laws at
the state level,’’ said Alison Holcomb, cam-
paign manager for Washington’s Initiative
502.
So far, no Washington lawmakers have
signed onto DeGette’s legislation.
Officer
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Thompson is a Vietnam veteran and a
decorated 40-year veteran of law enforce-
ment in Los Angeles, northern Idaho and
Spokane, Oreskovich said. ``This man
before you is not a villain,’’ Oreskovich told
the judge.
But federal prosecutors
noted that Thompson attacked
Zehm without warning, and
struck him repeatedly with a
30-inch baton and also
stunned him.
``There were seven baton
strikes in less than eight sec-
onds,’’ said Tim Durkin, an
assistant U.S. attorney.
``There is compelling medical evidence in
this case that Mr. Zehm sustained serious
bodily injury.’’
Prosecutors sought a sentence of nine to
11 years because of the seriousness of the
attack on Zehm, and its impact on the com-
munity.
``When officers abuse their power and lie
to cover it up, it fundamentally under-
Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. was
convicted last year by a federal jury
of violating Zehm’s civil rights by using
excessive force and then lying to
investigators in the case
Marijuana
continued from page 1
But marijuana remains illegal under fed-
eral law. States are not required to enforce
the federal prohibition, meaning they can
make marijuana crimes legal under state
law, but whether they can set up licensing
schemes to promote violations of federal
law is another story.
Many constitutional lawyers don’t think
so: In general, state laws that ``frustrate the
purpose’’ of federal laws can be blocked.
But the DOJ hasn’t said whether it plans
to sue to block the licensing schemes from
taking effect. Seventeen Democratic repre-
sentatives signed a letter to Attorney Gener-
al Eric Holder and Drug Enforcement
Administration Administrator Michele
Leonhart urging the DOJ to let the states
The DOJ hasn’t said whether it
plans to sue to block the
licensing schemes from
taking effect
Read online at
www.theskanner.com
November 21, 2012
The Seattle Skanner Page 3