Recall madness in California has obscured a bare-knuckle fight between the state's neediest students and an entrenched education elite. The students' victory should give hope to parents and students nationwide and guidance to legislators wavering on school reform.

Former NBA great Kevin Johnson is a graduate of Sacramento High School, a low-performing school where currently seven out of 10 students read below grade level. The school's continued failure had it in line for state sanctions.

That's when Johnson's St. HOPE organization submitted a plan for an innovative charter school on his alma mater's site. The non-profit St. HOPE enjoyed wide community support and drew millions in private donations.

Impressed by Johnson's plan and his ability to mobilize local support, the school board voted to close Sacramento High at the end of the school year and granted Johnson's group the right to reopen the campus as a charter school.

The new school would be divided up into small, themed academies and would have block scheduling. Student public service would be mandatory. Teachers would be required to conduct some extra-curricular activities, such as tutoring after school.

Under California's charter law, St. HOPE was also free to hire its own teachers. That explains the furious reaction of the California Teacher Association and its local affiliate. These groups wanted the new school to be staffed by the same teachers who had "led" the school to its record-setting level of low performance.

The union shopped for a local judge, Trena Burger-Plavan, whose convoluted ruling ultimately found the St. HOPE charter invalid. Burger-Plavan ruled that the campus would have to sit idle for a year before St. HOPE could open its charter, a determination not found anywhere in California's charter law.

St. HOPE appealed but at the same time submitted to the school board a second, successful charter petition. With the back-to-school date rapidly approaching, it continued to hire teachers and enroll students. The unions and a tiny cadre of parents sued again, claiming that St. HOPE was now in contempt of Burger-Plavan's ruling.

At an August 11 board meeting, where St. HOPE squeezed out another victory, the school's enemies taunted the board members with the prospect of jail time for contempt of court if they moved forward. But the board held firm.

St. HOPE opened the new Sacramento High School September 2, with 1,500 students wildly applauding Kevin Johnson. He was accompanied by Sacramento Kings star Chris Webber, who saw a need for charter schools in his hometown of Detroit.

Sacramento High isn't unique. Its dismal academic record is mirrored by high schools nationwide. As a recent study by California State University, Los Angeles, shows, charters are currently more successful than old-line public schools in educating poor and minority students, often at a lower cost.

Charters are getting better results and providing more accountability for less money than their traditional counterparts, a win-win situation for students, parents, and taxpayers.

Despite the jubilation of the St. HOPE students, the union continues its legal attack. This provides legislators nationwide with a valuable lesson. Despite their rhetoric, teacher unions place power and money above the welfare of students. They are part of a reactionary establishment that sees the schools as a giant sinecure rather than something that exists to benefit children.

Battling well-heeled unions every time a charter school opens is no boon to reformers or the kids they want to help. Cash-strapped charters should be free to spend their money in the classroom, not the courtroom.

Matt Cox is a public policy fellow in education studies at the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute. E-mail him at mcox@pacificresearch.org. .