Why charter expansion hurts our public schools, how much it costs us, and what we and other proponents of public schools are doing about it.

The news here this week and next centers around unlimited charter school expansion, why charter expansion hurts our public schools, how much it costs us, and what we and other proponents of public schools are doing about it.

There are three paths charter proponents have initiated that seek to get rid of the cap on charters, which are now growing at a slow, but steady, pace. Proponents of unfettered expansion have announced a citizens initiative petition, new legislative initiatives, and a lawsuit from white shoe law firms — all designed to permit unlimited growth of charter schools. Governor Baker has said that he doesn’t care how the cap as listed as long as it’s lifted.

Charter and privatization advocates, including some very wealthy folks, have even set up some straw organizations with “nice” sounding names (Educators for Excellence, Families for Excellent Schools, andGreat Schools Massachusetts). By the way, these groups are crafty and have visited our schools, trying to win over both teachers and parents. We are not fooled: Their sole purpose is to uncap charters at the expense of public schools.

Charters, despite years of promises, have yet to offer a single “best practice” except for their 10 hour student day. Of course, there are good individual working relationships between some of our schools and theirs, much like there are good connections between and among all of our schools. But what charters offer us by and large — we don’t want.

Charters commonly cherry pick their students, evict the students whom they don’t want to educate, harshly discipline the students who stay, and then hide behind inflated waiting lists (once a student supplies he or she remains on that charter’s eligibility list for as many years as that child is eligible for entry onto that school) — all in an effort to promote their cause. We have planned a week of action to fight back (see the following section).

We hope that you can help us out.

To see, incidentally, how much in lost state aid charters cost your community, see the interactive map here. Boston, as an example, will see a net loss this year of more than $121 million from its school budget. Imagine how useful those $121 million would be if spread out among our 58,000 students, at roughly $2,000 per student. Is it any wonder that the pro-charter expansion folks have set up shop in Boston?

Negotiations: A series of subcommittees have been set up to discuss compensation, teacher assignments, paras, professional issues, substitutes, itinerant groups, and school climate issues over then next few months. Please take the time, if you wish, to submit an item (or items) of interest to you or your group. Items are due by October 15and will be carefully discussed by our subcommittees. Thank you.