When are public schools going to get it? Charter schools are here to stay. And while the public counterparts should be watching and learning, they seem intent on doing whatever they can to harm their fellow educators.

Even if the law stands in the way. In California, one of the more reasonable propositions passed in recent years (in 2000) requires school districts to treat charter schools as they would other public schools. So what did the Los Angeles school district not understand when it refused to allow extra space in one of its high schools to be used by New West Charter Middle School?

The charter school was forced to pay $1.5 million to rent its existing space and had to go to court to earn the right to the public classrooms. The transition is being made, but the charter leaders must try to sublease their prior home and try to regain some of the money spent on court costs.

This is only the latest example of this type of behavior from across the country. The Heartland Institute has the details:

Charter schools have always faced an uphill battle for support from sponsoring districts. Over the past two years, two similar cases have been brought to California courts by groups denied facility requests by LAUSD.

“Districts do not seem to want to comply with the law,” said Sharon Weir, executive director and principal of New West Charter Middle School. “Now there is a precedent for districts to be held accountable to the law.”