CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV Metro News) -- Kanawha County state Senator Erik Wells took on the state's two teacher unions Thursday, accusing them of being more interested in pay than students' education.

"We have to change," an emotional Wells said during a Senate Finance Committee meeting Thursday. "I get tired of the WVEA and the AFT always talking about pay and not about kids."

Wells made the comments as he pushed for legislation that would allow for the creation of charter schools. Wells and other supporters say charter schools would clear out much of the typical public education bureaucracy, allowing innovation and great accountability. West Virginia is one of just eight states that does not permit charter schools.

West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee countered that charter schools would amount to cherry picking the best students at the expense of others by "taking public money away from every child in West Virginia and telling a select few students that they will have a better chance."

Wells accused Lee and others of "fear mongering" to keep charter schools from working. "I'm just looking for some change in the way we educate our students," Wells said.

Wells was relentless on the unions, accusing them of not having the best interest of students in mind. "I would hope your organizations would not be a roadblock," Wells chastised the union leadership.

The unions prevailed, however, because the committee decided to just study the bill rather than act on it. Wells agreed to the study resolution, but added that he'll bring the bill up next year. "I'll be dammed if I'm just going to stand there and let it go by," Wells said.

The legislation would have permitted a charter school if 60 percent of the parents and teachers wanted it. Wells said the goal was to empower teachers and parents to create the best school possible without the myriad regulations that normal public schools have to deal with.