Charter school increase a bad move for Lynn

LYNN – Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday unveiled a proposal that if approved will allow the number of charter schools in under-performing districts to nearly double, an ominous move that could prove deadly to the city’s budget if changes are not made.The proposal, which still requires legislative approval, would create 27,000 new charter school seats in the state’s 33 poorest performing districts, which includes all of the state’s large urban districts such as Lynn, Lawrence, Brockton and Worcester.In addition, the bill would allow Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester to step in and implement strategic plans at 30 of the state’s lowest performing schools. Although there is no list of schools that he is considering, there is a possibility that one of those schools could be in Lynn.Always a controversial topic, Patrick had been hesitant to lift a statewide gap on new charters due, in part, to his relationship with area teachers unions. The governor, however, quickly changed his tune this spring when President Barack Obama threatened to pull stimulus funding from states that do not work toward charter school expansion.Academically successful, especially in the arena of MCAS testing, charter schools boast the ability to compete with some of the state’s top private schools, but any support they receive has been countered by local city and school officials, who say paying for students to attend the pseudo-public schools is costing communities too much money.”This is a ticking time bomb,” Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. said Thursday. “The expansion of charter schools without a change in the current funding formula would create a very serious financial issue.”Charters are technically public schools, but school districts lose money from state allocated Chapter 70 education funds for every student in the city who attends a charter school. While districts are paying to send their students to these schools, charters are entirely independent, city administrators have no say in how the school is run and the curriculum does not have to follow the same framework as a public school.In addition, charters are not unionized, meaning this move could create a rift between Patrick and the teachers unions who have supported him.In Lynn, where students in grades 5-8 can attend the KIPP Academy Charter School, the city loses millions in funding each year – something Clancy said it cannot afford to do if KIPP expands or another school is added.Charter schools are one of the many progressive educational formats that have been put in motion over the last decade, joining extended day schools and now “readiness schools,” a new concept being funded by Patrick this year.Readiness schools are intended to start up within existing schools as a way to implement new programs and improve achievement – in a way, providing a charter school model in an existing public school while avoiding union conflicts over such issues as extended learning time.Lynn is one of the first districts in line for readiness school funding, and was awarded a $10,500 planning grant last month. Superintendent Catherine Latham was in Boston to accept the grant at the same time Patrick announced he would lift the charter school cap – a move that Clancy calls curious.”It is ironic because today Cathie is in Boston to supposedly accept this grant for readiness schools, which are supposed to go to the under performing schools that we know need some help,” he said. “So, is it charters or is it readiness?”Clancy said that while the idea of more charter schools is troubling, right now he is more concerned with how the state is going to determine which 30 schools Chester will have control over.Districts like Lynn face different challenges than smaller, wealthier areas like Lynnfield or Swampscott – primarily problems with high poverty populations and a large contingent of students who do not speak English as their first language.Clancy hopes the state will compare Lynn to its urban cousins when looking