By GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — The City Council is opposed to removing the cap on charter schools, arguing that the city can’t afford it.
In a move to join charter school opponents, the council’s resolution estimates that more than $17 million of Lynn’s budget for its public schools is being diverted to charters. This year, public schools are losing more than $408 million to charter schools statewide, according to the resolution that passed unanimously.
Wayne Lozzi, Ward 1 councilor, said there’s a problem when charter schools like KIPP Academy returns two dozen students to the city’s public school system because they are not making the grade.
“It isn’t fair,” Lozzi said. “Public schools are not going to get the funds for those additional students.”
Charter schools will say they’re sending back the students voluntarily. But often the children are underperforming or have special educational needs that the schools may not be able to provide, he added. At the same time, he said charter schools boast high graduation rates.
“I’m indignant that some of them are counseled out of these charter schools, instead of getting them to perform adequately to graduate,” Lozzi said.
The resolution comes as Gov. Charlie Baker, a big booster of charter schools, favors a bill that would allow up to a dozen new charter schools annually in districts performing in the lower 25 percent.
Lawmakers in the state Senate are debating a compromise measure that would not only raise the cap, but seeks to address funding concerns for traditional district schools.
Caleb Dolan, executive director of KIPP Massachusetts, which offers a K-12 charter education to students in Lynn, said lifting the cap is the right thing to do. He said raising the ceiling would allow KIPP to serve more students.
“We are really proud to serve 1,447 Lynn students and families,” Dolan said. “We want to be able to serve the nearly 1,000 additional students on our wait list. We want to continue to do right by the students we have and the students and families who want to be in our schools.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.