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MTA blasts Romney's plan to lift charter caps

Gov. Mitt Romney's proposal to lift the caps on charter schools is "outrageous, indefensible and fiscally irresponsible, especially in light of the recent drastic funding cuts for public education," said Catherine A. Boudreau, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

"The current funding formula for Commonwealth charter schools drains millions of dollars from the regular public schools, hurting the children who remain in them," Boudreau said. "Because the funding formula is so damaging, community opposition to new and expanding charter schools has skyrocketed," she continued. "For Romney to ignore the very real needs of the students in the regular public schools, and for him to ignore the overwhelming opposition to new schools in communities that are threatened by them, is unconscionable."

Boudreau pointed out that the budget signed by Romney last year cut state spending on public education by a quarter-of-a-billion dollars compared to the budget approved the previous year. He also slashed unrestricted local aid, up to half of which goes to public education, by an additional $185 million. 

One budget item that has been cut sharply in recent years is the charter school reimbursement line item, a provision that was enacted in recognition of the reality that districts lose a lot more money when a charter school opens nearby than they save from not having to educate students who leave the district for the charter school.

Romney's claim that lifting the cap is justified because there is a 13,000-student waiting list for charter schools is "extremely implausible," said Boudreau, citing a recent report by Citizens for Public Schools showing that 28 of 43 Commonwealth charter schools are under-enrolled, including schools that still claim to have long waiting lists. 

"We challenge the governor to explain these discrepancies and produce a bona fide record of 13,000 students who are actively seeking to enroll in a charter school but are unable to do so."