Mayor, Superintendent, and Teachers Union President Present United Front Against Dangerous Charter Expansion
At the November 19, 2024 meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), city and education leaders from Lynn testified in opposition to KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School’s latest attempt to expand in the city – which would siphon off another $24 million each year from Lynn Public Schools (LPS).
Appearing before BESE as a united front was LPS Superintendent Evonne S. Alvarez, Ed.D., Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson, and Lynn Teachers Union President Sheila O’Neil.
Every time a charter school opens in Massachusetts, it takes money away from the public school system in that district. Lynn is already losing over $30 million a year to charter schools. If allowed to expand, LPS will lose $54 million – 20 percent of its education budget – each year. The expansion request comes at a precarious time for many public schools, including Lynn’s, which are working hard to make up ground lost as one of the cities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If this expansion effort is allowed, it would cause irrevocable damage to Lynn’s public schools, which educate all children. At the end of the day, Lynn Public School students and KIPP students are both students of Lynn and should not be pitted against one another,” said President O’Neil, who has been a teacher in the Lynn Public Schools for 32 years. “Unfortunately, we’ve been put in a position where we have to combat false and divisive narratives from those supporting this effort at a time when we should all be focused on supporting our students and getting back to pre-pandemic learning levels.”
If allowed, LPS would undoubtedly see a cut into the core academic and social services provided to all students in Lynn, especially low-income, high-needs, special education students and English language learners (ELL). In fact, Lynn is the second highest receiver of ELL students in the state - only behind Boston. ELL students account for 43.3 percent of Lynn Public School students – compared to KIPP Academy’s dismal 15.1 percent. 19 percent of LPS students receive special education services, compared to 10 percent of KIPP Academy.
KIPP Academy Lynn’s requested expansion would put Lynn schools above the nine percent net school spending cap – the percentage of a school’s annual budget funding that can go to charter schools for tuition payments. Earlier this month, Mayor Nicholson, Superintendent Alvarez, and President O’Neil sent a joint letter to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Acting Commissioner Russell Johnston arguing against the notion that KIPP Academy Lynn could be seen as a “proven provider” as required by Massachusetts statute and regulations and, therefore, KIPP Lynn is not eligible to apply for expansion at this time..
Video of Mayor Nicholson, Superintendent Alvarez, and President O’Neil testifying before BESE can be found on the Board’s Vimeo pa pm ge (beginning at 37:35).