WHEREAS, free
public schools available to all students regardless of income, ability, need or
English language proficiency are foundational to our democracy; and
WHEREAS, all of
our students deserve high-quality public schools that teach the whole child,
providing enrichment and addressing social and emotional needs in addition to
core academic subjects; and
WHEREAS, local
accountability for our public schools is necessary to ensure that schools are
responsive to the needs of their communities; and
WHEREAS, the
Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District is losing $25,245 to Commonwealth
charter schools and public school districts across the state are losing more
than $450 million this year alone — a loss of funds that
is undermining the ability of districts to provide all students with the
educational services to which they are entitled; and
WHEREAS,
Commonwealth charter schools are often approved over the objections of a
majority of community residents and their elected officials and are not
accountable to local elected officials once they are approved; and
WHEREAS,
Commonwealth charter schools often fail to serve the same proportion of special
needs students, low-income students and English language learners as the
districts from which they receive students and often use high suspension rates
to drive out students they don’t want to serve; and
WHEREAS, the
Commonwealth charter school system is creating separate and unequal opportunities
for success; and
WHEREAS, lifting
the cap on charter schools would greatly worsen the problems listed above and
lead to a costly and divisive two-track school system;
THEREFORE, be it
resolved that the Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee opposes lifting the cap
on Commonwealth charter schools and urges all residents of the Town of
Bridgewater and across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to Vote No on 2 on the
November ballot.
No comments:
Post a Comment