Join the fight to defeat Question Two in November!
Currently, over $400 Million year is diverted from Massachusetts Public Schools to fund charter schools, hurting their ability to fund quality, public school education for every student in Massachusetts. What would happen if that amount was doubled? Tripled?
In 2017, charter schools will siphon off more than $450 million in funds that would otherwise stay in public schools. If Question 2 passes, that amount can increase by $100 million a year. Question 2 would allow up to 12 charter schools to open in Massachusetts every year.
Let’s work together to Defeat Question Two!
Q : What are charter schools?
A : Charter schools are privately run, publicly funded schools with no local oversight. They are funded by diverting money from local school districts.
The 71 charter schools operating in Massachusetts educate just less than 4 percent of Massachusetts children—only 32,000 students—yet they will siphon off more than $450 million this year alone. This money would otherwise stay in neighborhood public schools and be used to improve learning for all students.
Q : How do charter schools take money from public schools?
A : Even if a number of students leave from different classrooms across a district, the cost of operating a community’s entire school system is essentially unchanged. Our neighborhood schools are left with less money to cover the same operating expenses, such as maintenance, utilities and transportation costs. To put it another way, one student leaves a classroom to a charter school, the district doesn’t save money because it can’t lay off 1/25th of a teacher.
In cities and towns such as Boston, Holyoke, Randolph, New Bedford, Gardner and Lynn, charter schools can already take as much as 18 percent of a school district’s budget. That jeopardizes our public schools—the schools most families choose for their children—and it causes the elimination of classes – such as music, art technology and foreign language courses– and leads to larger class sizes in district public schools.Lifting the cap to allow more charters would only make things worse.