Parents eye new court bid vs. charter

The 15 parents suing to halt the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School welcomed the city of Gloucester as an official co-plaintiff Wednesday — less than 24 hours after city representatives signed a statement acknowledging that the charter school "will open successfully in the fall."

The apparent disconnect, a product of coincidence and a schism within the local government, looks even more jarring because of another move in the works: a request by the plaintiffs, expected to be filed today, for an emergency court order barring the charter school from opening at the end of August.

Combined, the bid for an emergency injunction and the admission that the school is viable places nearly all hope for those trying to prevent the charter from establishing itself in Gloucester on the lawsuit and a judge's decision on the order.

For months, many in the city believed that Gloucester Community Arts would not be able to pull together either enough students or a functional building to house them, but recent signs of progress by the school and the joint statement appears to mark a slow retreat from that position.

"In the absence of a court order, there appears to be nothing to stop the school from opening, which makes it even more important that the courts enforce the regulations that were broken," Ian Roffman, attorney for the parent group, said Wednesday.

Far from undermining the lawsuit through confusion or the appearance of dissension within opposition ranks, Roffman said the "open successfully" statement, a product of closed-door talks between charter and city leaders at state offices in Malden, would only "show the need for a court injunction."

Roffman said that, along with the request for an injunction, which he expected would be filed today, the plaintiffs intend to ask for an expedited hearing on the motion by the third week in August.

The explanation for how the city has ended up seeking both cooperation with and the elimination of the charter school goes back to Mayor Carolyn Kirk, who in June stepped into talks between the charter school and School Committee just before the lawsuit was filed in Essex County Superior Court.

Kirk called on both sides to do everything possible to find a "win-win" compromise that would avoid the lawsuit.

What that compromise would look like has never been clear, and before a new round of talks could be scheduled, both the City Council and School Committee voted unanimously to join the lawsuit.

So when the School Committee headed in to talks with the charter school at state Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester's office Tuesday, members found themselves caught between the charter school and two separate camps within the city, Kirk having announced that she would not sign the Council order.

What isn't known is what happened behind closed doors in Malden that resulted in the joint statement approved by all participants.

The School Committee had entered the meeting offering to consider providing a facility for the charter this year and exploring new innovative educational models — if Gloucester Community Arts agreed to renounce its charter after the first year.

The statement signed by Kirk, three charter board members, School Committee Chairwoman Val Gilman and Interim School Superintendent Joe Connelly, included the possibility of "exploring long-term solutions that are financially sustainable," but only with the "acknowledgement that the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School will open successfully this fall."

On Wednesday Kirk, who has a seat on the School Committee, said she was looking beyond the lawsuit to how the city can improve education in cooperation with the charter school.

"I am focused on bringing the community together," Kirk said.

"Instead of 'win-win," she said, "we are talking about common ground and finding a fiscally sustainable model. You can't walk away from the children and families that are enrolled at the school."

She added that the one-year offer of a building for tearing up the charter still stood.

"Either they are going to be ready, or the School Committee made a proposal for suitable housing for this year," Kirk said.

Although public discussions have moved away from the whether or not the charter school will be ready to open at the end of August, the challenges facing Gloucester Community Arts are still significant.

Renovations on its permanent home at the former Blackburn Industrial Park home of Cape Ann Medical Center are happening at a furious pace, but are not expected to be open close to the start of school.

And while the modular classrooms the school is planning to use for a month or two can be put in place quickly, they have still not received permits from the city.

The charter still needs commitments from 15 more students to reach its target of 95 for the coming year.

Executive Director Tony Blackman said last week that the school had offers out to 19, plus an additional 34 students on the waiting list.

A number of Aug. 1 benchmarks for school viability set by the state department of education are not expected to stop the school, as the state has said it does not enforce them as hard deadlines.

To discuss the impacts of what was agreed to in Malden, the School Committee has now scheduled a special meeting for Friday at 4:30 p.m., with only the joint statement on the agenda.

Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.

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Action comes despite deal for school to 'open successfully'

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