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New Mayor Has Extraordinary Chance to Set Aggressive Education Agenda; Push Legislature to Lift Cap on Charter Public Schools
(Statement can be attributed to Marc Kenen, Executive Director, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association)
BOSTON – With his victory tonight, Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh has a unique opportunity to reshape public education in the City of Boston. We are eager to begin working with the Mayor-elect to push for legislation to lift the cap on charter public schools and pursue reforms in traditional district schools that will expand high quality educational opportunities for Boston schoolchildren.
Both Mayor-elect Walsh and his opponent, John Connolly, made education a key issue in their campaigns and both supported lifting arbitrary caps on charter schools that have frozen charter expansion in Boston and other high need districts in Massachusetts.
Legislation is currently before the Education Committee that would once and for all eliminate limits on charter school growth in the state’s lowest performing districts.
As a state representative, Mayor-elect Walsh testified in favor of the bill. Walsh knows firsthand how charters have transformed lives, having served on the Board of Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester for 17 years. He often cited his experience at Neighborhood House on the campaign trail.
The existing union contract will be in effect for the first three years of Walsh’s term, providing limited opportunities to bring about major changes in the length of the school day or increase flexibility at the school level. Promoting additional charter schools will give Mayor-elect Walsh an opportunity to expand high quality educational options for families across the city.
The charter school community stands ready to help the new Mayor reach his aggressive educational goals.
