The
Massachusetts Democratic Committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing
Question 2, which seeks to lift the cap on charter schools.
Massachusetts
teacher and daily reader Christine Langhoff expands on my early report (which
she kindly sent to me as soon as the resolution passed).
Thanks to Christine, I
was able to circulate the good news before the daily press. It is kind of
amusing seeing the complaint by the representative of DFER, the hedge fund
managers’ group.
Hedge funds are not generally viewed as champions of those
without power; they lack numbers, but they are loaded with money and power.
Parents and educators anticipate that the hedge funds and corporate interests
will pour close to $20 million into their campaign for Question 2.
Supporters
of public schools can’t match the dollars, but they can knock on every door and
alert every parent that the real goal of this deceptive campaign is
privatization, not helping public schools.
She
writes:
Democratic
State Committee Resolution Regarding Question 2
WHEREAS,
the Massachusetts Democratic Party platform states that “Massachusetts
Democrats are committed to investing in public education”; and
WHEREAS,
the national Democratic Party platform states that charter schools “should not
replace or destabilize traditional public schools”; and
WHEREAS,
more than $400 million in taxpayer money was diverted to charter schools
statewide last year from local school districts, forcing cuts to programs that
families and students value; and
WHEREAS,
charter schools typically serve far fewer special needs students, English
language learners and economically disadvantaged students than the traditional
public school districts they are located in and use hyper-disciplinary policies
and suspensions for minor infractions to push out students; and
Liam
Kerr, director of Democrats For Education Reform Massachusetts, was not amused.
“Tonight,
a small group of state Democratic Party insiders hijacked a meeting and passed
a resolution with little warning and no debate or discussion. Democratic
leaders, including Hillary Clinton and President Obama support high-quality
public charter schools. The Massachusetts party insiders are so out of step
they won’t even listen to those who stand with low-income families and families
of color desperate for a better education for their children. There was nothing
democratic about this vote.”
The
vote flew in the face of predictions by the pro-charter Boston Globe on Monday
that it would be a divisive resolution:
“…forcing
activists to take sides between two traditional party constituencies: minority
and low-income families versus teachers unions…
A
ballot proposal to expand charter schools across the state could drive a
further wedge between Democratic Party factions when state committee members
gather Tuesday night in Lawrence…
‘The
charter school issue shows a genuine disagreement within the party, that
there’s no consensus,’ said one party insider, speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss internal Democratic dynamics. ‘And both sides are really
intractable. The notion of a middle ground on charter schools within the
Democratic Party, or among the people that are going to be showing up to this
meeting, it just doesn’t exist.’ ”
The
Globe got it wrong about a lack of consensus, as today’s report indicated only
a “smattering” of opposition to the resolution. It also quoted New England
NAACP head Juan Cofield who thanked state Democrats:
“In
an emailed statement, NAACP New England Area conference president Juan Cofield,
who also chairs the Campaign to Save Our Public Schools, said, ‘We applaud the
Massachusetts Democratic State Committee for joining the campaign to save our
public schools and opposing Question 2. They join more than 70 local
communities and a broad coalition of families, parents, educators, students,
and local leaders who understand that Question 2 is bad for our schools.’ ”
Even
Boston’s pro-charter Mayor Walsh, himself a founder of a charter school, has
publicly opposed Question 2, due to the projected $158 million it will siphon
from Boston’s public schools next year without lifting the cap:
Here’s
further reporting from State House News Service, much behind a paywall:
STATE
HOUSE, BOSTON, AUG. 17, 2016…..
The
Massachusetts Democratic Party on Tuesday night voted to oppose a ballot
question that would expand charter schools in Massachusetts, putting the party
at odds with some of its members in the Legislature.
“Our
local communities cannot afford to lose even more money to charter schools,”
said former Rep. Carol Donovan, a Democratic State Committee member from
Woburn, in a statement.
“Already, cities and towns [are] forced to make budget
cuts every year due to the state’s underfunding of education and the money lost
to charters. If this ballot question passes, it will create budget crises in
hundreds of Massachusetts communities, and hurt the students who remain in our
local district public schools.”
The
party’s definitive position differs from the verdict of Democrats who run the
Legislature and have differing opinions of charter schools. Legislative leaders
were unable to broker a charter school compromise and have left the issue for
voters to settle.
Sen.
Michael Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat, and Rep. Frank Moran, a Lawrence
Democrat, have both taken on prominent roles backing passage of Question 2,
which would allow up to 12 new charter schools or charter expansions in
Massachusetts annually regardless of a statutory cap.
The
Senate this year passed “The Rise Act,” tying charter cap increases to
additional investment in local education, at an estimated cost of $203 million
to $212 million annually for seven years.
The
bill knocked by critics who noted the lack of dedicated funding in the bill,
which they described as placing on unfeasible burden on increasing access to a
form of public education that operates outside the control of local school
committees.
Rather than seek compromise with the Senate, House leaders abandoned hope of a legislative solution, allowing the question to be decided by voters on Nov. 8.
The
RISE Act mentioned here would have made charters more transparent, holding them
to standards similar to those for public schools, and was bitterly opposed by
the charter lobby on those grounds, while public school advocates opposed the
further funding of charters it would have enabled. The House failed to take up
the measure.
On
Twitter, head of the MassTeachers Asociation, Barbara Madeloni used the hashtags
#alltheygotliesand$ and #wegotpeoplepoweranddemocracy, pointing out the dark
money flowing in from out of state to fund charter growth. Maurice Cunningham,
a professor of Political Science at UMass Boston has been tracking that money: