“QUESTION 2. Charter school expansion. The question, if approved, would let state education officials approve up to 12 new charter schools a year.”
The state education officials referenced in the question are the members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), who have the power to approve or withdraw a charter school application under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71, Section 89. There has been much discussion about the Board’s role after we reported that Paul Sagan, the Chair of BESE, gave $100,000 to a fundraising committee supporting Yes On 2’s efforts.
As mentioned previously on this blog, we are firmly NO on Question 2 and explained our reasons in our last post. But let’s break down what is actually IN the Initiative Petition (linked here and pasted below) that would become part of Massachusetts State Law if passed on November 8th.
What’s IN ballot Question Number 2:
- The board may authorize up to 12 new charters or charter school expansions per year (or a combination of the two).
- These new authorizations cannot exceed 1% of the total enrollment of the student population in Massachusetts, which was 953,429 in 2016, so new charter authorizations cannot exceed more than ~9,530 seats per year. Obviously this number will go up with population growth.
- If the board receives more than 12 applications, BESE will “give priority to proposed charter schools or enrollment expansions in districts where student performance on statewide assessments is in the bottom 25% of all districts in the previous two years and where demonstrated parent demand for additional public school options is greatest.” A mystery to us: What method would BESE use to determine parent demand?
- The approved new charter schools must comply with the student recruitment and retention policies already in place and will be subject to annual performance reviews by BESE.
What ISN’T in Ballot Question Number 2:
- There isn’t one word in Question 2 about how 12 new public schools will be funded. I’ll use my own shoe collection here as a metaphor: If I add 12 new shoes to my already full shoe rack each year, they will (a) cost me money and (b) I will have to toss out 12 pairs of shoes to put all my shoes away. If Question 2 passes, existing public schools in your town and mine will lose money and may have to close.
- There is no mechanism to stop the expansion of charter schools. This ballot question will remove from State Law the language that caps charter schools at 18% of a district’s total spending. We’ve written about how profitable charter schools can be, so the initial interest by investors will be high. But the unchecked proliferation of charter schools will weaken ALL schools, because the amount of money available and the number of students is finite.
- Charter schools will be able to open anywhere in Massachusetts. Anywhere. While the ballot question states the Board will give preference to charter applications in lower performing districts if there’s more than 12 applications, there is absolutely no language stopping charter schools from opening in any city or any town in Massachusetts. As we mentioned in our last post, charter school applications are NOT subject to the approval of your local school committee or your local government.
- While we’re relieved that new charter schools would be subject to the existing recruitment and retention policies that were included in the 2010 Act Relative to the Achievement Gap, we've written how the Department of Secondary and Elementary education is not only not enforcing these policies, but has modified the metrics of measure to lower the standards for charter schools.
Please vote NO on Question 2 and ask your friends, family and neighbors to do the same.
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| Link to file on mass.gov |
