State denies Lynn charter school bid

LYNN – KIPP Academy Lynn will remain the city’s only charter school, at least for the time being.According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Fenix Charter School “did not receive a favorable recommendation.””We did receive a favorable review ? but they determined that there were a few key areas that we needed to develop,” said Frank DeVito, who sought to open the charter school.DeVito filed an application to open a charter school at 20 Wheeler St. that would use project-based lessons designed to connect students to the real world. His vision included students engaged, bandying about ideas and conducting research on how to solve real-time local problems rather than getting lost in a textbook.The application was met with strong opposition from school and city officials.School Committee member Charlie Gallo was happy to hear the application had essentially been denied.”The drain right now is $8 million on public schools,” Gallo said.He is referring to the amount of state aid or Chapter 70 funding that goes to KIPP Academy rather than the Lynn Public School District.”We’re at the point where we’re hiring not firing teachers,” he said. “We’re reopening schools and teachers are continually being asked to do more with less. I was happy to lead the fight to say enough is enough.”Gallo and committee member John Ford were vocal in their opposition to the school and drew up a resolution that put a voice to that opposition. The committee approved the resolution unanimously.Gallo said one problem he has with charter schools is that they can fundraise in ways public schools are not allowed to and are not held accountable for the spending of that money while at the same time receiving the funding from the state that public schools get, which he called completely unfair.Gallo said it’s time to start re-investing in public education.”For the first time in 14 years we’re not a failing district,” he said. “It’s time to support our teachers and our schools.”DeVito, however, is not giving up.DESE officials stated that DeVito and the other three schools that were not approved receive feedback from the department on their applications and are invited to reapply during future application cycles.In an email he said he will be meeting with DESE next month to discuss the feedback and he does plan to resubmit.”It should be noted that a similar dynamic occurred for the charters that were granted this year,” he said, referring to two schools that were approved for Fall River and Springfield. “The commissioner did not approve their charter bids last year but after they spent a year further developing their proposals, they successfully gained the commissioner’s approval this year. We are confident that we will be granted a charter next year.”DeVito actually called that good news for the general public because it shows the application is a rigorous process.”This ensures that charter schools that open will be viable and successful,” he said.DeVito said city officials need to realize that a growing number of families are frustrated with what he called a lack of educational options.”Rather than retreating into political ideology, the city needs to unify around a common vision for public education,” he said. “Communities such as Boston and Lawrence have created an educational compact where district schools, charter schools and private/religious schools work together to provide a quality education to all families. We need to be bold and work toward this vision.”View 20 Wheeler St in a larger map