Charter School Cap Debate Rages on as Senate Caucus Debates Bill

Friday, June 20, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

As the charter school bill that would lift the cap on charter schools in the lowest performing districts is debated in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, the debate still rages on as to whether or not these schools are beneficial to local communities.

Those in favor praise charter schools for their originality, giving students a wealth of options for schooling. Those opposed say that while the schools offer more options for students, they are hurting public schools by cherry picking students and funding.

“I think that this bill is ultimately going to pass,” said John Monfredo, a member of the Worcester Public School Committee. “I think that charter schools offer students a wealth of choices; competition after all is the American Way. With that being said, I take issue with the way that charter schools are being funded because our district is already hurting for funding.”

The bill is currently awaiting a caucus hearing by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means after passing in the House by a vote on 114-35 at the end of May. The bill proposes that the cap on charter schools is lifted, allowing for more charter schools in the lowest performing 10-percent of school districts, increasing the cap on charter school tuition from 18 to 23-percent of a school district’s spending by the year 2022.

Not the Original Plan

The Massachusetts division of the American Federation of Teachers is upset with charter schools – openly opposing the lifting of the cap – in part because charter schools are not what they had originally set out to be.

Ed Doherty, Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers, says that charter schools are sucking millions of dollars and other resources away from public school districts. According to Doherty, charter schools were originally intended to be an experimental zone to develop new teaching methods.

While he supports the idea of autonomy in schools, Doherty is not in support of charter schools not having to answer to local school committees or administrations. Because they are completely separated from the public school districts, charter schools are causing more harm than good.

“It doesn’t make sense that we are taking money from poorer schools in our state to promote these charter schools,” said Doherty. “There have been national studies saying that charter schools, on average, do not perform better than a public school. We have public school districts that are losing million to these schools when the results aren’t conclusive in saying that they are any better than public schools.”

Working Together

The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association has heard the arguments over and over again. Charter schools are no better than public schools. Charter schools pull funding and students from public schools; the list goes on and on.

Rather than focusing on the competition between the two, the association would like to see a partnership, one that benefits both types of schools. Because regardless of whether or not committees and administration are opposed to charter schools, they are still in high demand around the state.

According to Dominic Slowey, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, charter schools, especially in the Worcester area, are in high demand. Data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows that over 1,000 students are currently waitlisted in Worcester to get into a charter school, ranking fifth in the state.

“I think that collaboration between public and charter schools is long overdue,” said Slowey. “The charter school community offers a good competition and is a great alternative for students. It really is frustrating to see so much opposition to charter schools because it is clear from statistical data that they are in high demand.”

Charter School Cap Debate Rages on as Senate Caucus Debates Bill

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