Gloucester charter school bid gets key ally

Local officials against concept on fiscal grounds

The state's education commissioner said yesterday that he will support the creation of a charter school for the arts in Gloucester, despite opposition from the mayor, School Committee, and other local officials.

The school would be the first of its kind in Gloucester. The proposal was selected from three finalists, including two plans for schools in Worcester and Waltham.

"In my mind, this was a very strong proposal by a group of very capable people," Mitchell D. Chester, commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said by phone yesterday. "There's a strong infusion of the arts in the curriculum and it is well thought out."

Although more than 400 parents have signed a list saying they would consider sending their child to the new school, called the Gloucester Community Arts School, others have criticized the idea, saying it would drain resources from city schools and force cuts in spending.

Charter schools are publicly funded independent schools that are overseen by the state, not the local public school district.

The state Board of Education will ultimately decide whether to approve the proposal. Chester will make his recommendation at the board's Feb. 24 meeting.

The Gloucester proposal was condemned by the School Committee and the City Council as a financial drain on city schools. The School Committee voted unanimously against the plan in November, calling for a statewide moratorium on new charter schools.

Mayor Carolyn Kirk has called the plan to fund the school by withdrawing spending in other local schools "obscene." Yesterday she said the proposal would "hurt more than help the children of Gloucester."

Greg Verga, chairman of the School Committee, said the shift of funds to the charter school will exacerbate planned cuts due to state budget reductions.

"I'm very disappointed with this decision," he said. "It is my hope that the board will look at the lack of merits in the charter proposal and do the right thing and deny their charter."

There are 61 charter schools in operation in Massachusetts. According to the Gloucester proposal, 240 students from kindergarten through Grade 8 would attend the school, which is scheduled to open in 2010.

Opponents, however, have said the loss of students would drain $2.4 million in per pupil spending - or $10,000 per student - from the city's public school system and redirect the money to the charter school, which could lead to teacher layoffs.

Chester said yesterday that he was sympathetic to community concerns about funding. He said he would delay the opening of the proposed charter school for a year if Gloucester sees its state funding for education cut in the upcoming budget cycle.

"I expect there will be people who think I have not made a good decision," Chester said. "But I will make the proposal on the merits, not based on any kind of political calculus of who would be happy and who would not."

Mitchell also said the school system would not experience an immediate funding drop as a consequence of the charter school's planned opening, instead, phasing out payments.

For one year, the state will pay the city as much as it did prior to the charter school's opening. The following year, the state will pay the city 60 percent of its precharter school funding, and 40 percent in the charter school's third year.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.