Lawmaker: ‘We should keep an open mind’
New operator could mean ‘breakthrough’ for Danbury charter school
Some Danbury-area lawmakers say they may be willing to consider supporting a charter school for the city now that a Connecticut-based operator has been put in charge of the project. Supporters are still likely to face a fierce battle for state funding and approval, but some Democrats are more receptive to the idea after the announcement that John Taylor, the head of a New Haven charter school, would replace Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Prospect Charter Schools.
“Mr. Taylor has a very reputable reputation in Connecticut,” state Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, said. “I think it’s a better option that it’s a Connecticut-based organization now. I think we we should keep an open mind. I look forward to meeting with Mr. Taylor and hearing his thoughts and what he thinks he could potentially bring to Danbury.”
The Danbury Democratic delegation has opposed the project, preventing it from earning state funding in the more than three years since the Connecticut Board of Education approved a charter school for the city. Some legislators couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday.
The Danbury Charter School Planning Team switched operators to have someone who was well known in Connecticut and who could champion funding for the school.
“He’s (Taylor) literally what we needed in Danbury,” said Jose Lucas Pimentel, a member of the planning team and head of Latinos for Educational Advocacy in Diversity, which has advocated heavily for the charter school.
Supporters plan to push the governor to include funding for the charter school in his proposed budget. Pimentel said they may see a “breakthrough” thanks to legislators indicating they may drop their opposition.
However, state Rep. Ken Gucker, DDanbury, said he remains firmly against the charter school, largely because he argues state funding should go toward the “underfunded” public schools in Danbury.
State money for charter schools comes from a different funding stream than the one for public schools, “but it all comes out of the state budget,” he said.
“It does indeed take away from our students,” Gucker said.
State Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, said he has similar concerns, but he’s “open minded” and looks forward to hearing the details, ramifications and consequences of the plan.
“It’s certainly better than one from New York City,” he said of the operator.
He said he wouldn’t advocate for funding the school until he’s talked to stakeholders and had his questions answered about what the public schools would need to pay toward transportation, among other concerns.
“I’m not inclined to take money away from Danbury Public Schools to give to another operator, even if it’s a nonprofit,” Godfrey said. “I need to see those numbers and see exactly how it works and see the other costs involved.”
He and Arconti said Taylor’s accomplishments and relationships in Connecticut have led them to take a second look at the project.
“Being a Connecticut operator is, I think, an important step,” Arconti said.
State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, DBethel, said he wants to give parents more options for schools and that the new operator could be promising.
“When we had conversations with Prospect, I did have concerns that what may work for Brooklyn may not work in Connecticut,” he said. “Sometimes I felt like there wasn’t a lot of transparency in the questions I was asking. An agency that’s asking for state dollars, there has to be accountability.”
Booker T. Washington, the New Haven charter school that Taylor runs, was named a “School of Distinction” by the state in 2018. Taylor and the Danbury Charter School Planning Team cited other academic accomplishments his students had at charter schools in New York.
State Rep. Patrick Callahan, R-New Fairfield, called the plan for the school “impressive.” He’s visited the building where the school would be constructed and spoken with Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity.
“I’m completely in favor of it,” Callahan said. “It gives people a choice, and there’s a ton of private funding put into it, as well.”
Concerns about the school
In 2018, the state Board of Education OK’d Prospect Charter Schools specifically to operate the school in Danbury, so the revised plans with the new operator need to go back to the state for approval.
Stephen Tracy, chairman of the planning team, said the group will need to bring a “formal written statement” to the state indicating what changes would be made.
“We’re optimistic that they will (approve it), but I’m sure they’ll have their questions,” he said.
Gucker said it would be “premature” to fund the school because the new operator hasn’t been approved.
“How do you ask for money if you’re not approved?” he asked. “This is like me saying I want money to build my house but I’m not building my house yet.”
Gucker argued the charter school wouldn’t adequately address the public school district’s overcrowding problem, but building additional public schools would.
The charter school would begin by serving 110 students, adding a grade each year to reach 770 students.
“The money and the numbers don’t line up,” Gucker said.
Gucker questioned how the school could open as planned at the 358 Main St. building that the Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity has made its home.
City zoning regulations require schools to sit on a minimum of two acres, but city property records show the lot is 0.02 acres.
A philanthropist has donated $25 million toward construction of the school, but Gucker noted that’s far less than the $99 million Danbury has committed to its career academy, the $84.2 million cost of New Fairfield’s new high school and the $29.2 million cost of the renovations to one of New Fairfield’s elementary schools.
Pimentel said he expects the group will seek further donations. Taylor’s New Haven school is supported by several philanthropic groups, Pimentel said.
Arconti said he and the delegation are looking out for what’s best for students.
“We want, I want our kids to have the best educational experience they can have, which prepares them for their lives, for their adult lives,” Arconti said. “So if Mr. Taylor and his organization thinks they can provide a solution or be part of that, then I welcome getting to know them and hearing what they have to bring.”