Charter schools score in budget

Patrick plan aims to raise test results

Governor Deval Patrick, who has consistently opposed raising the cap on the number of charter schools, will dramatically change course in the budget he releases today, allowing for more charters in low-performing districts as long as these new schools try to help the most vulnerable students.

The reversal was fueled by a desire to shrink persistent achievement gaps in those districts, Education Secretary Paul Reville said in an interview with the Globe yesterday afternoon. The new schools would be required to cater primarily to those who traditionally struggle the most: special education students, English language learners, low-income students, and those on the brink of dropping out.

But gaining legislative support for the proposal could be difficult at a time of dwindling state resources; local districts lose a portion of state aid for each student who attends a charter school.

"There are mixed feelings," said Reville, noting that the proposal includes charter school funding revisions that could offer relief to local districts. "There is a lot of sympathy on Beacon Hill for local communities having state aid cut, but there is also sympathy for students experiencing deep achievement gaps."

Charter schools were created as part of the 1993 Education Reform Act as a way to develop new teaching strategies that could be adopted by public schools. The 61 schools operate under looser state regulations than traditional schools, have mostly nonunion teachers, and are run by independent boards that report directly to the state. They have been popular in urban districts among parents and students frustrated with traditional schools, and several charter schools in Boston are among the state's top performers.

But unions and many school districts have fought the charter movement passionately, contending they divert resources from the students in traditional schools. Raising the cap has been a deeply political issue that has frequently divided the Legislature and cropped up as a volatile issue at election time.

Patrick has been steadfastly against raising the cap, making him a target of charter school advocates who chide him for failing to embrace innovation and bowing to demands of the powerful teachers unions. Last summer, when Patrick unveiled his sweeping 10-year overhaul of public education, the governor said he wanted to try a new kind of school - modeled after charters but with union teachers and overseen directly by local districts - before entertaining raising the charter cap. As recently as this month on FM-WTKK, Patrick called the issue of raising the cap "a total red herring" because "we are not at the cap."

The state places a limit on the number of charters allowed as well as limits within individual school districts. While about 60 more charters can still open statewide, many urban districts such as Boston are near the local cap, which limits each school district's spending on charter tuition at 9 percent. The governor's proposal would increase the cap to 12 percent in the 50 lowest performing districts, creating 4,500 new seats as more than 20,000 students statewide are on charter school waiting lists.

If approved by the Legislature, the change would offer the most immediate relief in 12 districts closest to reaching the cap: Boston, Holyoke, Lowell, Fall River, Somerville, Randolph, Salem, Everett, Malden, North Adams, Revere, and Cambridge.

The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, which would like the cap raised to 20 percent of net school spending, welcomed Patrick's willingness to begin moving in that direction. "It's a huge step forward for education reform," said Marc Kenen, the association's executive director. "It will create more educational opportunities for thousands of students across Massachusetts."

But others denounced it.

"Draining more money from school districts is not productive or helpful," said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

Reville said the governor warmed to raising the cap within the last week, as he realized the state's dwindling revenue would reduce the ability to open a new kind of school - known as readiness schools - which would require districts to spend on converting existing schools.

Under the proposal, the new schools would have to enroll 5 percent more special education students and English-language learners than the average for the local school district; 80 percent of the students would have to fall into the four targeted categories.

"We have a sense of urgency to do better with these populations," Reville said.

Although Kenen said he shares the governor's goal of focusing the new schools on those student groups, he questioned how charters could guarantee a certain percentage when charters admit students by lottery.

The association, he said, also objects to a funding change in the proposal that would create a separate pool of money to fund a portion of charter schools instead of diverting state aid directly from the school districts. He said a separate line item could put charters at greater risk of state budget cuts.

Koocher, on the other hand, said the funding change does not go far enough in addressing school district concerns about lost revenue, especially as districts prepare for possible teacher layoffs and school closures.