Raising the Bar on Education
May 5, 2004
ROMNEY VOWS CHARTER SCHOOL MORATORIUM VETO
Celebrates National Charter School Week by Awarding Four New Charters
ROXBURY - Governor Mitt Romney today vowed to veto a proposed charter school moratorium, praising the innovation and excellence in these public schools and saying he will fight for the expansion of charter schools in Massachusetts.
“Let there be no doubt, I will veto any charter school moratorium that reaches my desk,” said Romney, appearing at Roxbury Preparatory Charter School with parents of children affected by the proposed moratorium.
Parent and student demand for charter school enrollment in Massachusetts is extremely high. More than 13,000 students were put on a waiting list for a charter school this academic year and the waiting list for this coming school year has grown to over 14,000.
To mark National Charter Schools Week, Romney awarded charters to the founders of four new schools in Lynn, Cambridge, Barnstable and MetroWest.
“Charter schools provide more alternatives in public education and encourage innovation and excellence,” Romney said. “They hold teachers and administration accountable for the educational success of their students and give parents the chance to make choices regarding their children’s education.”
Last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved an amendment to their budget that prevents any new charters from being granted until the end of 2005.
It also freezes five charters approved by the Board of Education earlier this year and last year, including three receiving charters today: Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, Community Charter School of Cambridge, KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School. The two other schools affected by the House’s action are Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter School and the Salem Academy Charter School.
Because of statutory constraints, 152 school districts in the Commonwealth cannot add new charter schools despite heavy demand from parents. Romney said that he would work to eliminate the caps that unnecessarily hinder the further growth of charter schools: a 120-school cap on the number of charter schools statewide; a four percent cap on the number of children statewide that can enroll in charter schools; and a nine percent cap on the amount of school spending that can go to charter schools from each district.
Romney noted that charter schools have achieved excellence, as evidenced by their MCAS scores.
“Charter schools offer a valuable public school option to our parents and students, and I applaud the success they have had,” said Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll. “A moratorium would be a mistake because it would trample on the rights of parents to select which type of school their children will attend.”
The four new charter schools are:
- Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, which will be located in Marlborough, Hudson, Maynard or Clinton, will serve grades six through 12 by its fifth year. The Academy will create an atmosphere of celebration of knowledge where children of a variety backgrounds and abilities excel in all subjects, especially in math, science and technology, empowering them to succeed in the workplace in our modern high-tech world. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.
- Community Charter School of Cambridge will serve grades seven through 12 beginning in the fall of 2005. The mission of the school is to combine challenging academics with technology use and real world experience to prepare students for post-secondary success. The mission highlights the school’s goal to create students who are excellent problem solvers and communicators and who participate in the community through internships and other experiences.
- Kipp Academy Lynn Charter School will serve a maximum of 320 students in grades five through eight. Their focus is to create an environment where the students of Lynn will develop the academic skills, intellectual habits and character traits necessary to maximize their potential in high school, college and the world beyond. The school is scheduled to open this fall.
- Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter School in Barnstable will serve students in grades kindergarten through four. Their mission is to be a whole school community that provides a challenging and enriching learning environment for all children where all children achieve high academic standards and develop character. The school will open this fall.
In addition, Romney renewed the charters of Roxbury Prep and three other schools, including:
- Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School;
- Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston; and
- Robert M. Hughes Academy Charter School in Springfield.
Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of any school committee under a five-year charter granted by the Board of Education. They are given the freedom to organize their activities around a core mission, curriculum, or teaching method and set their own budgets and staffs.
Massachusetts charter schools were created with the philosophy to increase student achievement, to give parents more educational choices, develop best practices and be held accountable for results. A charter school must demonstrate positive results within five years or lose its charter.
Romney also celebrated the news that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded MassDevelopment $4 million – in addition to $6 million awarded last year – to fund the Massachusetts Charter School Loan Guarantee Fund. The program will provide funds to be used to guarantee capital to address the cost of acquiring, construction or renovating both owned and leased charter school facilities.
For more information on charter schools, go to www.doe.mass.edu/charter.
- "Thanks to the support of the Bush Administration, we will ensure that charter schools can continue to educate and nurture the children of the Commonwealth in safe and stimulating environments. Since 1995, charter schools have provided nimble and innovative methods of teaching our kids and pushed all of our public schools to perform at a higher level.”
- “Let there be no doubt, I will veto any charter school moratorium that reaches my desk... Charter schools provide more alternatives in public education and encourage innovation and excellence. hold teachers and administration accountable for the educational success of their students and give parents the chance to make choices regarding their children’s education.”
- “Charter schools are public schools. All of our public schools deserve our support and encouragement... Charter schools make other public schools stronger because they have to respond to competition. Charter schools provide meaningful educational choices and are held strictly accountable for their successes and failures... My Administration is working to address concerns over the funding formula for charter schools and the charter school approval process,” said Romney. “But, we can work out those issues without prohibiting already approved schools from opening their doors to new students.”
- “Charter schools are important centers for innovation, achievement and accountability in education. It is especially important for parents with children in low-performing districts to have an alternative, and I will continue to fight any measure that would restrict this choice or the addition of new charters.”
School Choice and Charter Schools
School Choice and Charter Schools Press Releases
- Closing the achievement gap in our schools is the civil rights issue of our time.
- There is a proper role for the federal government to play in Education.
- The federal government should not determine what schools teach or how they are ran.
- When parents and kids are free to choose their school everyone benefits.
- We should have a federal home schooling tax credit.
- Good teachers should be rewarded for their hard work.
- Competition in Educational opportunities makes traditional public schools better.
- Students in failing schools should be able to exercise school choice.
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