COUNCIL WILL WEIGH IN ON CHARTER COUNT
Jackson against more
Hub city councilors will soon weigh in on whether they think the city should open itself up to more charter schools.
Councilor Tito Jackson has submitted a resolution that will be voted on at next Wednesday’s meeting that asks his colleagues to go on the record in opposition to a charter school ballot question that would lift the cap on charter schools across the Bay State.
With potentially the highest stakes in the battle, Boston will follow other cities and towns who have already weighed in, including at least 50 school committees that have voted in opposition.
The Boston School Committee is slated to consider the ballot question at its September meeting.
Question 2 — which goes before voters Nov. 8 — would allow the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to authorize up to 12 new public charter schools or existing school expansions per year.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association board unanimously voted against the ballot initiative in June, arguing the current financing system for charters is “broken” and exacerbates money woes in school districts across the state, Executive Director Geoff Beckwith told the Herald.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh also opposes lifting the cap, saying this spring that “this proposal does not provide for the sustainable charter school growth that its proponents seek. Instead, it would wreak havoc on municipal finances, undermining our ability to support either new or existing schools in Boston.” Jackson, chair of the council’s education committee, told the Herald he opposes charter school expansion because it drains money away from district schools and takes students away from both district and parochial schools.
“This is not local control. This is the opposite of local control when you have the Massachusetts school board making decisions about Boston,” Jackson said. “I believe people closest to education in the city of Boston should be making the decisions about it.”