Mass. education board rejects KIPP charter school's expansion in Lynn

Boston Globe

25-02-2025

The state funds charter schools by redirecting state aid from local districts for each student who attends a charter.
'These cuts would hurt at any time,' Nicholson told the board before the vote. 'Imposing them now with draconian federal funding cuts not just looming, but having been actively attempted, would be short sighted and careless, particularly given that the federal government is
Six state board members voted against the expansion, while four others approved it. Dissenting votes came from state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, a former Lynn superintendent; board Chair Katherine Craven; Ericka Fisher; Dálida Rocha; Mary Ann Stewart; and Ioannis Asikis.
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'Obviously, I know the Lynn Public Schools extremely well, but I also know KIPP Lynn really well and I have extraordinary respect for what they do,' said Tutwiler, who also voted against several other charter school proposals Tuesday. But he added, 'I cannot ignore the context in which we are making this decision, and it is a pandemic recovery context.'
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The rejection came during the board's monthly meeting in Everett, which included votes on four other charter school expansions.
Three of them passed: Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, an in-district charter school in Boston received the greenlight for 352 additional seats; Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, 100 seats; and South Shore Charter Public School in Norwell, 225 seats.
But Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough came up short on a request for a mere 34 seats, with the board deadlocked 5-5.
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The charter school expansions faced a tough fiscal environment as the
The votes also came as President Trump is pushing to invest nearly
Acting state Education Commissioner Russell Johnston, who recommended the charter school proposals for approval, acknowledged the tight school district finances prior to the votes.
'We have heard testimony ... about the idea that we should take into consideration the financial impact of these expansions on the sending districts, and I respect the voices that you've heard from speaking to this issue,' Johnston said. 'However, the impact on the sending districts is not a consideration in law or regulation.'
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The state evaluates charter school expansions on an array of factors that include a charter's faithfulness to its operating license and student achievement as measured by MCAS test scores, attendance and graduation rates and other factors.
It also considers whether the number of seats sought falls within the state's charter school cap, which limits the amount of charter-school tuition covered by local districts to no more than 9 percent of their annual net school spending and for districts in the bottom 10 percent up to 18 percent.
During the review process, the state asked KIPP to downsize its original proposal, which sought to add more than 1,300 students. KIPP agreed, recently putting forward a more modest request for 450 seats.
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Family demand for KIPP Lynn is high, with an annual waitlist ranging between 1,789 and 1,917 students over the past five years.
But the reduction did not quell KIPP's critics. During Tuesday's meeting, Lynn's mayor was joined by several state representatives in voicing their opposition, while at least a dozen expansion opponents in the audience held signs reading 'save Lynn Public Schools' and 'LPS student voices matter.'
Nikki Barnes, executive director of KIPP Massachusetts attempted to downplay the financial concerns, pointing out the state reimburses districts for some of their losses.
Under state law, the state reimburses districts over three years for new charter seats, starting at 100 percent and then sliding down to 40 percent in the final year.
'I believe that now more than ever, our families must know that their voices matter and that their desire to have access to a public school option that best supports their students, regardless of how uncertain the times may be, matters,' Barnes said.
KIPP previously sought to expand seven years ago, but the state education department declined to recommend it for approval for a variety of reasons, including that academic performance in the Lynn Public Schools was improving at the time.
Mandy McLaren of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Everett.
James Vaznis can be reached at