NORTHFIELD — Pioneer Valley Regional School Committee seems divided over the issue of charter schools.
Ballot question No. 2 in the Nov. 8 general election, if approved, would let state officials approve up to 12 new charter schools each year or expand enrollment at charters, effective January.
Sue O’Reilly-McRae, a Pioneer parent and Warwick resident, stood before the committee Aug. 25 to ask for its united opposition to new charter schools.
O’Reilly-McRae argued that, given a combined population of 6,652 people in Northfield, Warwick, Leyden and Bernardston, the Pioneer district doesn’t have a large enough school-age population to sustain both charter schools and public schools.
The majority of the committee expressed opposition to charter schools, which could draw students from the district’s already dwindling enrollment and, as a result, compromise funding.
Under the stipulations of ballot question No. 2, total enrollment at a charter school could not exceed 1 percent of the total statewide public school enrollment for that year.
It would give preference to charter applicants seeking to open or expand schools in districts that fall within the bottom 25 percent for performance on statewide standardized tests, where demand is greatest.
Members of the committee also expressed concern that charter schools disproportionately don’t accept special education students and tend to serve high-achieving students. However, under the stipulations of ballot question No. 2, new charter schools would be required to develop a recruitment and retention plan to ensure that special education students, English language learners, low-income students and students at risk of dropping out are enrolled in a proportion comparable to the sending districts. The schools would also be subject to annual performance reviews.
The committee voted on whether to support the mission of Save Our Public Schools, a grassroots organization that opposes lifting the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts. Though seven members present at the August meeting voted to support Save Our Public Schools, they could not reach a consensus.
Committee member David Young offered the sole vote supporting charter schools.
“I personally think charter schools have a lot to offer students that don’t respond to the heterogeneity model,” he said.
Young also argued that adding competing schools could result in improvement within the Pioneer district’s public schools.
“We thrive through competition,” he said. “It’s what makes us better, it’s what forces us to become better.”
Committee member Jeanne Milton abstained from the vote, having worked as a nurse at Four Rivers Charter Public School in Greenfield for 10 years.
Last month, both the Mohawk and Hawlemont regional school district committees unanimously adopted a resolution opposing expansion of charter schools.