Fifty school committees come out against charter school expansion
There is a rumbling in the hinterland.
At least 50 local school committees have come out against a push to allow more charter schools in Massachusetts, according to a tally from the Massachusetts Teachers Association union.
Officials from Revere to Worcester to Greenfield have penned letters to legislators and newspaper editors, or passed resolutions calling for a moratorium on opening new charters.
Among the concerns: Charters drain money from traditional public schools and aren’t required to hire licensed teachers.
A letter from Revere school committee members warned of “slyly crafted language” in charters’ recruitment plans that allow them to exclude the toughest-to-educate students.
And a Wareham school committee member called charters “blood-sucking,” the Wareham Courier reported, before voting for a resolution opposing a proposed ballot question to lift a state-imposed cap on charters.
“Educators are enraged,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, summing up the general sentiment among traditional public schools types.
Koocher, though, said his association and individual school committees are barred from spending money in the fall ballot fight.
In a campaign expected to draw millions in spending, then, it’s unclear if voters will hear the school committee rumblings.
David Scharfenberg can be reached at david.scharfenberg@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @dscharfGlobe