Paul Hubbert says that the money from the federal government is not guaranteed and if Alabama did get the schools, they would have to fund them, regardless of whether the state received the money.
But what exactly are charter schools?
Charter schools receive public funding and oversight, but are not subject to the same restrictions as traditional public schools. For example, charter schools have more freedom than public schools when it comes to hiring and firing teachers; they don't have to follow state-approved curriculum; and they are able to decide how long their school days and years will be.
Alabama is one of only 10 states in the country that does not offer charter schools.
But not everyone sees them as a positive addition to Alabama.
"We don't have enough money to educate kids in Alabama now and if we're putting money into schools that are not held to the same standards as public education, they're gonna become a country club where people send kids and the public schools are gonna be left with the kids that nobody else can educate or want to educate," said Vi Parramore, Jefferson County American Federation of Teachers President.
Parramore fears that the schools could wind up hurting the kids if the owners start operating them for profit.
"You'll see the schools lunches go downhill. You'll see the curriculum watered down. They start hiring people for half of what a regular teacher's paid, then they start going with alternative certifications where you have teachers who are not even qualified to be in the classroom teaching," explained Parramore.
Parramore believes that Alabama should keep the door open to the possible funding from Washington, but feels traditional charter schools are not the answer.
For more information, go to www.uscharterschools.org .
