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COMMENTARY |
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Bloom & Buell's |
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COMMENTARY |
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Bloom & Buell's |
The Legislature is littered with bills designed to undermine the innovative charter school movement in Massachusetts, including an attempt to shut down existing charter schools. Legislators would do well to ignore these efforts and give their attention to more serious bills that would lift the statewide 25-school cap on charter schools, expanding school choice and encouraging public schools to improve and compete.
Charter schools, which operate free of union work rules and other administrative impediments, are not the last word in education reform. But they do make it easier to lengthen the school day, elevate standards, dismiss underperforming staff, establish incentives, and introduce performance evaluations without the common union blockades associated with public school systems. Products of the 1993 Education Reform Act, most of the state's charter schools are living up to their billing. Some, like Boston's City on a Hill, have attracted positive national attention. At least one, the YouthBuild Boston school, is near collapse. This is not a flawless movement.
Bills sponsored by the Board of Education and state Senator Stephen Lynch of South Boston would increase the cap from 25 to 75 schools. The precise figure is less important than the need for immediate flexibility. It could take five years or more to generate 50 more solid charter school applications. But a handful of good proposals are already languishing due to the current cap. Minimally, the Legislature should seek compromise and approve an additional 25 charter schools.
Public schools and unions are right to worry about charter schools because per-pupil costs are deducted form the sending district. But the energy with which teachers unions oppose charter schools would be better spent working with administrators to improve their own systems. Governor Weld, a strong supporter of charter schools, could speed the process by ensuring that no school district suffers undue financial loss for the sake of a charter school in its midst. The goal remains educational quality and innovation, not punishment.
-This editorial appeared in The Boston Globe on May 9, 1995. Reprinted with courtesy of The Boston Globe.
This commentary is not intended as legal advice. For advice on a specific case, you should contact the attorneys directly. Pursuant to Rule 3:07 of the Supreme Judicial Court Rules of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this communication may be considered advertising.
