"we remind the local board that the General Assembly has determined that public charter schools shall exist."

The Washington Post: Montgomery County, it's time to embrace charter schools
By David Borinsky, Baltimore

...An Anne Arundel County charter middle school operates out of a $10 million facility, has the second-highest standardized test scores in the county, has a long waiting list and has eliminated the minority achievement gap. Montgomery County's most recent capital budget contemplates a $45 million middle school (as well as many other "additions" and "modifications" budgeted at millions more per school) and, according to the Maryland State Board of Education, has a significant minority achievement gap. Not only are Montgomery's budgetary impacts self-created, but the county also is missing opportunities that other jurisdictions have embraced to fix problems -- such as the minority achievement gap -- that go to its core mission...