Top school chief backs charter plan

Panned by nearly every elected official in the city, the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School has received a very big endorsement.

State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester yesterday asked the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to grant a charter to the group trying to bring an arts-focused independent public school serving kindergartners through eighth-graders to Gloucester.

The board is slated to vote on charters Feb. 24.

Of three prospective charter groups asked by the state to submit final applications to the state, Chester recommended only the Gloucester proposal be approved.

Chester said that proposals for a regional charter school in Worcester and a statewide school in Waltham needed more work and recommended that the board deny their applications and ask them to try again.

In recommending approval for the Gloucester Community Arts proposal, Chester said plans for the charter school included a "strong academic curriculum" that would provide new opportunities for the area's students.

"This is an interesting proposal in a school in a community well-known for its appreciation of and contribution to the arts," Chester said. "Their focus represents a careful blending of both academics and the arts. I look forward to seeing this school open its doors and thrive."

Since it was first announced last summer, the Gloucester charter school plan has drawn steady fire from virtually all local elected officials, who have warned of dire financial consequences to the city's public schools if the charter is approved.

Projections from the School Department suggest larger class sizes and the closure of schools will result from the charter.

In his recommendation, Chester acknowledged the precarious financial situation facing most school districts in Massachusetts and added a condition to his recommendation: that the school should open only if the state is able to meet "its fiscal obligation to the district next year."

Likely intended to allay local financial concerns, the condition — should it be adopted by the state Education Board in its final vote — sets the state "foundation level" as the criteria for meeting fiscal obligations.

The "foundation" is a dollar amount calculated from a formula that the state uses as a baseline for local school aid.

Even with a series of local school aid cuts in recent years, Gloucester's funding this year met "foundation" levels.

Reacting favorably to Chester's announcement, Gloucester Community Arts board chairman Peter Van Ness yesterday said he was not concerned the condition would slow the opening of the school, even if it was accepted as a condition of the charter.

Van Ness called Chester's decision a "giant step" for the charter school and local students.

"I certainly hope that the board seriously considers the commissioner's recommendation and approves the charter," Van Ness said. "If we all work together we can improve education for everyone in the city."

That sentiment was not shared by school officials, including Superintendent Christopher Farmer, who calls the charter proposal "a nice idea at the wrong time in the wrong place."

In a full-page statement released shortly after the commissioner's announcement, Farmer said the commissioner's decision had no "regard for the implications for the students who will not attend the school."

"Deciding now to commit over $1.2 million of state funds in 2010-2011 to establish a new school when funding for public schools is being slashed and the economy is reeling takes some understanding," Farmer said.

"It amounts to a studied neglect of the many, and is in direct contradiction to the Education Reform Act's aim of providing a quality education for all," he added.

School Committee Chairman Greg Verga had a similar, if more measured, response.

"I am disappointed with (Chester's) decision and hope the board will take into consideration the testimony in opposition to the charter school, both at the public hearing and in writing," Verga said.

Charter schools are public schools run independently from local school districts and freed of many of the restrictions of traditional district schools and generally without teacher's unions.

They are funded by the state by diverting aid to the host district. In Gloucester's case, officials estimate that the city will lose $2.4 million each year to the charter, once it is fully enrolled.

A public hearing on the charter proposal at Fuller School on Dec. 11 was attended by members of Chester's staff, but not the commissioner himself of anyone from the Board of Education.

Responding to questions about community opposition and the potential financial toll of the charter in a phone interview, Chester yesterday said he had taken both into account in making his decision.

"In the Gloucester case, I received input that was in favor and against — both opinions were expressed to me," Chester said. "I have tried to weigh the opinions I receive and merits of the proposals. The bottom line is that the proposal sitting in front of me is viable."

The state's criteria for approval of a charter is exacting and extensive but operates from the default position that, if a proposal meets its hurdles, it should be good for the community.

In describing why he thought the Gloucester Community Arts charter would be good for all of Gloucester, Chester said the reimbursement system that sends a percentage of charter spending back to the districts in a new charter school's first years provided a "sufficient fiscal safety net."

On the benefits of new charter schools in reluctant districts in general, Chester said:

"I have concerns we are not learning from innovative and effective schools — not all charters. Part of the goal of the charters is that they will inform the rest of the system," Chester said.

Patrick Anderson can be reached at panderson@glouestertimes.com

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State Education commissioner urges approval for arts facility

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