Governor Deval Patrick plans to unveil a proposal today that would double state funding for charter schools in the worst performing districts. The legislation would increase the percentage of state school funding allocated to charter schools from 9 to 18%, and would make 37,000 seats available at qualified charter schools in 30 districts across the state. The proposal comes on the heels of President Obama’s threat to withhold millions of dollars in federal money from states that impede charter school expansion. The funding increase, which requires legislative approval, is part of a plan to increase the chances that Massachusetts will be a beneficiary of a piece of the five billions dollars of federal funding that is part of the «Race to the Top» program.
Advocates of charter schools praised Patrick’s decision to double charter school funding, arguing that charter schools provide high quality public education. Opponents, however, fear that this legislation could be economically harmful to underperforming school districts. Children who leave these districts to go to charter schools bring with them indispensable money and resources. The increase in the number of charter schools in Massachusetts could take valuable resources from the districts that need them the most. While there is an open lottery system for student admission to charter school, Governor Patrick would like to establish guidelines, but not quotas, for certain groups of students such as special education students, and English language learners.
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