Around two-thirds of the students enrolled in the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School attended Gloucester public schools last year, according to figures provided by the charter and Gloucester Interim Superintendent Joseph Connelly.
The remaining third are either from other towns, private schools, school choice to other towns or were home schooled.
The numbers, which are still developing as the charter continues to recruit up to its Sept. 13 opening date and private schools open their doors, show that the charter school has not been able to rely entirely on disaffected public school students to fill its ranks.
At least seven of the 93 students formally committed to Gloucester Community Arts live outside Gloucester, according to Executive Director Tony Blackman Wednesday. That total is comprised of two students from Rockport, two from Essex, two from Salisbury and one from Manchester.
The remaining students all live in Gloucester, but Blackman on Wednesday was not able to provide a breakdown of how many students are from private schools or use the school choice program to attend other public schools outside Gloucester.
St. Ann School begins classes next week and Sister Judy O'Brien, principal of St. Ann, said she would not have figures on losses to the charter until then.
On Monday, Connelly reported that 55 former Gloucester public school students had enrolled in the charter, but Blackman said a few more had enrolled by the middle of the week.
The total of 93 confirmed students reported by Blackman is eight more than last week and, if they all attend, brings the charter to within two students of its 95-students first-year enrollment goal.
Drawing school choice students back to Gloucester was one of the selling points used by charter founders, who pointed out that Gloucester loses many more students, and the state aid dollars that go with them, to other communities than it takes in.
But while having the charter school draw students living in other communities will help offset some of the financial loss to the district schools, having it draw school choice, private school, and home-school students will make it worse.
That's because, after this year's state reimbursement runs out, the charter school will be funded using state money diverted from the Gloucester schools for every Gloucester resident who attends.
Districts are expected to be able to downsize and cut costs to make up for that loss with the charter school taking some students off their hands. But private school students and home-school students weren't being educated by the district beforehand, so there is no cost savings.
Even though districts do pay for school choice students, the tuition is far less than the annual charter school tuition.
Former Superintendent Christopher Farmer argued that it would be less painful to have all charter students come from the city's schools.
Coming on the heels of the enrollment figures, state Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester this week approved Gloucester Community Arts' new Sept. 13 opening date, which is two weeks later than the school was initially scheduled to open.
The approval was expected. Chester's office had already said that, except for the facility, Gloucester Community Arts was fit to open.
"Aside from the delay in completing your temporary facility, the school has met all of the other essential requirements for opening," Chester wrote in a letter to Blackman dated Monday. "I would note that delays in completing facilities are not uncommon for new charter schools, and the department has in the past granted approval for calendar adjustments in situations such as this."
The letter said that state education officials recently visited the school site and were convinced that a series of code violations with temporary classrooms should be correctable by Sept. 13.
Others are not so confident.
To open on time, the charter school's modular company will need to have plans to correct the code violations discovered in the temporary classrooms approved by Gloucester Building Inspector William Sanborn before it can even begin the repair work.
The state approved the correction plans early in the week, but on Tuesday Sanborn had discovered problems that still were not accounted for.
On Wednesday, Sanborn said he had been in contact with the modular company and progress had been made in improving the plan. He said a building permit could be issued for the repair work by Thursday.
Even when they get a building permit, the charter school will still have a lot of work to do before the school can open.
The repairs themselves, mostly plumbing-related, have to be completed, which could take several days, before Sanborn lifts the stop work order issued two weeks ago.
Only when the stop work is lifted, can the charter resume work building stairways and decks to the modulars, moving furniture in and then getting teachers acclimated.
"I think they are going to be fine," Blackman said about the mobile units. "On Thursday and Friday of next week we plan on putting everything in the classrooms."
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
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