State seeks new look at charter school

The department and its board sent a letter to the governor about this latest development late Monday, in hopes of calming a firestorm that erupted 10 days ago concerning the possibility that politics played a role in the school’s approval earlier this year. The furor was triggered by the publication of an e-mail from the state’s education secretary, which indicated that the Patrick administration might have pushed approval of the charter school to advance the governor’s education agenda.

Department officials and the Patrick administration have insisted that political influence played no role in the board’s decision to approve the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School in February, despite the opposition of Gloucester city leaders and a negative review by the department’s own specialists. Patrick, who has defended the approval process, has said he is merely asking for another vote so that Gloucester residents feel they have been treated fairly.

“The board recognizes that the establishment of a charter school in Gloucester has caused division in the community and shares your concerns regarding this division,’’ Mitchell Chester, the department’s commissioner, and Maura Banta, chairwoman of the department’s board, wrote in the letter to Patrick. “We are committed to finding a path forward that addresses community concerns while being consistent with the requirements of law.’’

State officials are trying to instill public confidence in the charter school approval process as the department reviews a new round of applications for the independently run public schools. Yesterday, the department announced that eight of the 14 proposals for charter schools submitted this summer have advanced to the final stage. The new schools would serve such cities as Lynn, Quincy, and Worcester, as well as several affluent Boston suburbs.

The department and its board last month rebuffed the governor’s previous request to reopen the Gloucester case. Chester and Banta said at the time that state law forbade the board from reconsidering its vote. They said the only action the board could take was to revoke the charter for just cause, such as for material misrepresentations in its application, which they warned could be difficult to prove.

At last week’s board meeting, several Gloucester school officials presented what they considered to be such misrepresentations in the charter school’s application, such as an assertion that the city’s schools shun innovation, which prompted one school committee member to break into tears when she talked about it.

While opponents had raised those same concerns during the approval process, Heidi Guarino, the commissioner’s chief of staff, said last week’s meeting was the first time they presented them as material misrepresentations. After the meeting, she said, the department staff decided to seek an outside consultant to assist with the review.

Amy Ballin, chairwoman of the charter school’s board, could not be reached for comment.

Gloucester officials greeted the review with guarded optimism.

“This sounds like movement and we will see how it unfolds,’’ said Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk. “None of us will be able to predict the outcome of this one.’’