Foes, supporters of charter schools make cases on ballot Question 2

While it’s still months until the November polls, the Twin Cities have seen residents on both sides of the issues related to charter schools posed by Question 2 on the ballot.

Though many educators and parents of children in public schools oppose the notion of allowing up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions every year in Massachusetts, others say students require the options Question 2 would make possible.

“With districts that have a history of low performance, parents need a choice of where to send their kids,” said Jennifer Jones, a former board member of the previously proposed Academy for the Whole Child Charter School in Fitchburg.

“Charter schools have not been around as long as public schools, and yet we’ve seen charter schools in Massachusetts do extremely well in a short amount of time compared to districts that have been here for decades,” she said.

According to the Massachusetts Charter School Public School Association, 50 percent of all Gateway City charter schools were rated with an accountability level of 1 — the top level — for 2014 MCAS scores, compared to only 16 percent of district schools.

While local proponents of Question 2 might argue that the performance of the schools necessitates increasing the number of charters, local opposition argues that creating more will only harm existing public schools by siphoning state funding.

Current local candidates for state representative — Natalie Higgins and Richard Marchand in the 4th Worcester District, and Kimatra Maxwell and incumbent Stephan Hay in the 3rd Worcester District, all Democrats — have all come out in opposition to Question 2 over the course of their campaigns.

Leominster Teachers Union President Jennifer Kifer, who has been advocating among local teachers and parents against Question 2, said she has heard more opposition than support in Leominster.

“So far, it seems everyone is saying no only, but there are still people who are very passionate about having charter schools,” Kifer said.

Kifer said the primary reason for her opposition is the notion of how much money additional charter schools would take from public schools.

“Most budgets in this area right now are level-funded, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like if more of our funding was siphoned off by charter schools,” she said.

However, according to Eileen O’Connor, a spokeswoman for pro-charter group Great Schools Massachusetts, Question 2 will only increase state funding to public education.

“Public charter-school expansion has led to more than $230 million in additional public-education funding over the past five years,” she said.

According to a statement released by Great Schools Massachusetts titled “The 400 Million Dollar Lie,” opening new charter schools in Massachusetts has meant education spending has increased by 16.9 percent over the last five years, equaling an additional $1.7 billion.

However, representatives of the Campaign to Save our Public Schools, which opposes Question 2, argue that lifting the cap would further drain money from existing schools.

“Right now, with the way charter schools are funded, public schools are losing over $450 million a year, and if the question were to pass, it would allow for 12 more schools every year,” said Save Our Public Schools spokeswoman Jannae Knospe.

According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Leominster Public Schools are poised to lose $782,077 to charter schools this year, while Fitchburg schools will loose about $2 million.

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