Testimony of Tim Nicolette, Joint Committee on Education, In Opposition to Bills That Would Harm Charter Public Schools

Good afternoon, Chair Gordon, Chair Lewis, and members of the committee. My name is Tim Nicolette, and I am the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. We represent Commonwealth charter public schools – free public schools, open to all students. For 31 years, our schools have been an important part of our state’s public education system. 

Every student deserves the opportunity to receive a high-quality public education. And we know a one-size-fits-all approach to education simply doesn’t work. Charter public schools enable families to decide which public school is the right school for their child, whether that is a traditional public school, a vocational technical public school, or a charter public school. 

I am here today to stand alongside teachers, families, students, and alumni in opposition to several bills, including H.540. You have a full list of these bills.* These bills would hurt schools, weaken our public education system, and ultimately, harm children. 

Some of the bills before you today would not only hurt high-performing schools; these bills would close them. Massachusetts law already limits how much funding can flow to charter public schools and therefore how many children can attend our schools. Some of the bills before you today would lower these caps even further. Funding for our schools would be cut by up to 72%. 22,000 children would be forced out of their schools. 

Such significant funding cuts are not financially sustainable. Charter public schools all across Massachusetts would be forced to close. Teachers would lose their jobs, and children would be removed from the schools they love – schools where they are thriving.

When we find something that works in public education, we should support it – not hurt it. 

At a time when public education and many of the communities we serve are already under siege, these bills exacerbate those attacks. We ask you to firmly reject them

Thank you.