By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the most high-profile Democrat in the state, came out in opposition to the charter-school-expanding Question 2 on Monday, the same day Congressman Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, endorsed the ballot measure.
Gov. Charlie Baker, the most high-profile Republican in the state, backs the referendum, which if passed on Nov. 8, would allow for up to 12 additional charter schools per year beyond existing statutory caps.
Results from a new UMass Amherst/WBZ poll showed the question favored by 49 percent of likely voters and opposed by 39 percent. A recent MassINC/WBUR poll showed the charter question failing 41 to 48 percent.
Eileen O’Connor, spokesperson for Great Schools Massachusetts, the campaign in favor of Question 2, said the latest poll results "show voters across Massachusetts believe that every family deserves the right to choose the best public schools for their children. Question 2 will provide more families with quality public schools in their communities, and lead to more funding for public education."
In a statement sent out by the campaign organized against the question, Warren, a Cambridge Democrat, praised charter schools in general while expressing concern about the proposed charter expansion’s effect on school districts’ bottom lines.
"I will be voting no on Question 2. Many charter schools in Massachusetts are producing extraordinary results for our students, and we should celebrate the hard work of those teachers and spread what’s working to other schools," Warren said. "But after hearing more from both sides, I am very concerned about what this specific proposal means for hundreds of thousands of children across our Commonwealth, especially those living in districts with tight budgets where every dime matters. Education is about creating opportunity for all our children, not about leaving many behind."
In an email Tuesday, the AFL-CIO urged voters to "join Senator Warren and the Democratic State Committee to fight for quality education for ALL Massachusetts students."
Lynch, who ran for the state’s other Senate seat in 2013, winning 42 percent of the Democratic primary vote, came out in support of the proposal.
"I support Question 2 because expanding the cap on charter schools will give families more choices for their child’s public education and will help to raise the quality of education for children from across the Commonwealth," Lynch said, according to a press release by the group backing the measure.
Democrats for Education Reform, which backs charter expansion, will host a "virtual town hall" at 7 p.m. Tuesday with Ben LaBolt, who was a national spokesman for the Obama for America Campaign along with Liam Kerr and Marty Walz, who hold positions at DFER.
The policy question that will be decided by voters has generated millions of dollars in spending, with much of it going towards television ads. The Office of Campaign and Political Finance lists proponents spending about $9.3 million to the $4.3 million spent by opponents.
On Tuesday the Yes On 2 campaign announced a new TV ad labeling as "absurd" the contention from the referendum’s opponents that charters sap money from public education, quoting coverage in the Boston Herald, Lowell Sun and Boston Globe.
Charter schools are public schools and public education dollars follow students, with the state offering limited reimbursement to assist school districts that lose students and funding.
"Question 2 will absolutely result in hundreds of millions of dollars being sucked out of our district schools and handed to privately-run charters. That’s why more than 130 locally elected school committees across the state have voted to oppose Question 2 and zero have voted to support it," Steve Crawford, spokesman for the No On Question 2 campaign said in a statement in response to the new TV ad.
The state Democratic Party voted to oppose the question in August.
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a nonprofit group that has targeted Democrats in the past with mailers, criticized Warren for her opposition to the charter question.
"The appetite for choices in public education is strong, but unions and bureaucrats block the way, fearing that change will hurt the status quo," Paul Craney, the executive director of the group said in a statement. "I’m disappointed Elizabeth Warren is standing with them and not with the hard-working families of Massachusetts."
The Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District last week announced it had voted unanimously to oppose Question 2.
"We should focus our resources on improving our schools for every student in Massachusetts, not divert even more public dollars to unaccountable, privately run charter schools that only educate four percent of students," Brian Doherty, General Agent of the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District, said in a statement. "This privatization scheme is backed by the same people who want to eliminate the prevailing wage, abolish project labor agreements, and privatize other public services. Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country, and we don’t need Wall Street billionaires telling us how to run them."
[Michael Norton contributed reporting]
