Charter School Cap Ruling a Victory for Worcester Public Schools

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Friday, July 18, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Much to the delight of the Worcester Public School District, the bill that would lift the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts has been shot down by the Senate. 

The Senate voted down the charter school bill - S 2262 “An Act Relative to Bridging Gaps in Education” - by a vote to 9-30 and the amended version that left the Senate Ways and Means Committee 13-26.

“I was really impressed by how well Senators were informed at the local level by having conversations with their districts, administrators, and committee members,” said Tracy Novick, a member of the Worcester Public School Committee. “Charter schools are created by the Board of Education and then funded by the legislators, but if full funding isn’t achieved, burden falls on the local school districts to pick up the slack.”

If passed, the charter school bill would have gradually lifted the cap on charter schools in the lowest performing districts. While those in support of the bill touted the positive impacts that charter schools could have in giving parents greater education choices, those not in favor argued that there should be do rush to expand charters in this particular session.

Victory for Public School Districts

Administrators and committee members alike in the Worcester Public School District have been generally opposed to additional charter schools or charter school enrollment because according to them, the charter schools steal funding and students from neighboring public schools.

While public school districts receive funding when a student leaves for a charter school, in past years they have not been funded at the full level set out by the Board of Education. Additionally, when charter schools bring students to their school, Novick says they are often selective, only selecting the best and non-problematic children. 

“I am disturbed by the notion that we as a Commonwealth are making attempts to create an escape hatch instead of making sure that people are properly being served by our public schools,” said Novick. “I think that it is encouraging that our Senators are going beyond the party line from big lobby groups and are actually taking the time to figure out the effects various bills would have on public schools.”

Depleting Quality Education Options

According to the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA), the rejection of the charter school cap lift is a major loss for various parents and students throughout Massachusetts, something that is much more damaging than the feud between charter school and public school districts. 

Over 1,000 students in Worcester alone are currently on a wait list to get into a charter school, meaning that there is still a high demand for more of the schools in the area. The MCPSA says that these schools have become an important aspect of education reform in the state because they offer quality education options to people who feel that their local public school district isn’t up to par. 

“The Senate’s rejection of legislation to lift the cap on charter public schools is an affront to parents whose children are trapped in underperforming district schools,” said Marc Keenan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. “An opportunity to expand access to high performing public schools has been lost.”

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