CHESTER-At the Gateway School Committee meeting on Wednesday in Chester Elementary School, chair Michele Crane of Blandford brought forward a resolution against lifting the cap on charter schools, which is Question 2 on November’s ballot. The Gateway Teachers’ Association had requested the School Committee to take a position on the issue at its last meeting. Crane had offered to draft a resolution.
The resolution under consideration Wednesday, based on that of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, stated that the Gateway Regional School District is losing $53,161 to charter schools, and collectively public schools are losing $408 million across the state this year. It also stated that charter schools fail to serve the same proportion of special needs, low-income students and English language learners in the districts from which they receive students, and the charter school system is creating separate and unequal opportunities for students.
Question 2 on the November ballot would authorize the approval of twelve more charter schools or enrollment expansions in existing charter schools by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education per year.
The resolution drafted by Crane also stated that lifting the cap would worsen the problems listed, and lead to a costly and divisive two-track system.
Jeff Wyand noted during the discussion that a commercial currently airing on television says that charter schools do not take money away from public schools. He said the commercial was misleading.
“Not unless you think when the state is facing a lack of revenue this year, they will find $400 million more for charter schools,” responded Gateway superintendent David B. Hopson.
Gateway business manager Stephanie Fisk said that payments for charter and school choice students are deducted monthly from the district’s Chapter 70 funds. Currently, Gateway has five students attending charter schools.
A motion to approve the resolution was taken, which passed with ten affirmative votes. Madelyn Austin of Montgomery voted against the resolution, and Anne-Marie Buikus of Montgomery and Kara Rousseau of Huntington abstained.
Megan Coburn, principal of Chester and Littleville Elementary Schools reported that thirty new elementary school students new to the district enrolled this summer, spread out over several grades. She said a lot of them are English language learners, coming from a large Russian-Ukranian population. Gateway is hiring an additional English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to accommodate the new students.
Coburn also said that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) accountability report was just released on Monday, and she was excited to report that Littleville Elementary School is a Level 1 school, joining Chester Elementary School and Gateway High School in the ranking. Last year, Littleville Elementary was given a Level 3 designation.
Gateway Middle School and Junior High were given Level 2 rankings, as was the Gateway district overall. In 2015, Gateway was designated as Level 3. Hopson explained that a district is given a Level 3 ranking if any of its schools are at Level 3.
Coburn said she would be studying the report, to see which initiatives are making the difference in the accountability level at Littleville Elementary.
Following the meeting, Hopson said that DESE also noted Gateway’s progress in its press release announcing the results. The press release, which is on DESE’s website at www.doe.mass.edu states:
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today released 2016 MCAS and PARCC results and school and district accountability and assistance levels. The Department also commended 49 schools for high achievement, making strong progress and/or narrowing proficiency gaps.
Notable in today’s results is the fact that the Bellingham, Dighton-Rehoboth, Gateway Regional (serving the towns of Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery and Russell), Medford and Oxford have joined the ranks of districts in which all schools are Level 1 or 2.
“I am pleased to recognize these schools and districts for their hard work over several years,” said Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester. “This year’s accountability and assessment results are a testament to the Commonwealth’s drive to improve an already strong statewide public education system.”
