Proposed new charter school

[klauspood.livejournal.com]

There is a proposal for a new charter school in Somerville. The state (DESE) will be reviewing the application for the next few weeks and will possibly grant the charter on February 28th. If granted this charter school will undermine the existing Somerville Public Schools by reducing school funding by nearly $5 million a year, which is almost 10% of the current school budget. This cut in funding will lead to devastating cuts in public school programs, loss of 60 -75 teachers, and potentially closure of an entire school. This would represent a huge set back for public education in Somerville, setting back much of the progress that has been made in our schools in the last 25 years.

There will be a public hearing by the DESE on this on December 14 2011 at Somerville High School. More info can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/site/progresstogetherforsomerville

http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/21168

http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=6532

Comments

Re: These questions should be asked of the organizers.

[alterfer.livejournal.com]

I have been talking to them and following the discussions.

I started out neutral and interested, but every new bit of information I discover has led me to be suspicious and now hostile to their intents. My utter lack of confidence in them and their ability to run a school would be enough on its own for me to object. However, the damage, division and inequity it brings to the city's school system adds to my misgivings.

It's only very recently they've put content on their website in response to the outcry over their secrecy with which they have been trying to push this through. They deny any secrecy, but as I said, the sheer numbers of involved parents who were completely unaware of this application belies that.

Re: These questions should be asked of the organizers.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I'm in the same boat as alterfer. sounds good on the surface, but then the more you dig, the more you read, the more divisive it gets.