The Globe reports the mayoral forum sponsored by the Boston Teachers Union was just what you'd expect: Candidates opposed to expanding the cap on charter schools (Consalvo, Ross, Yancey and Arroyo) got a much warmer reception than those who didn't (Connolly, Walsh, Walczak and Barros, with the strongest charter supporter of them all - Conley - not present). Golar Richie continued her position of not really taking a position on the issue.
The Globe reports a pro-charter group plans to spend up to $750,000 for ads and door knocking for John Connolly (Stand for Children's release on its endorsement is attached below).
At an education debate at the Brooke charter school in Roslindale tonight, most candidates supported lifting or increasing the current cap on charter-school seats in Boston.
John Barros, Charlotte Golar Richie, Mike Ross, John Connolly, Bill Walczak and Dan Conley all said they favor increasing the number of charter seats in Boston.
Felix Arroyo, Charles Yancey and Rob Consalvo all opposed it.
Some questions about charter schools in general and Meg Campbell's Codman Charter in particular.
Mayor Menino plans to ask the state legislature for permission to eliminate the current limit on BPS charter schools - which could mean ceding day-to-day operations to private non-profit groups - and give them the right to serve only particular zones, rather than having to accept students from across the city.
Nancy Bloom writes she was scheduled to be fired on June 1 in an annual ritual at her Hyde Park charter school. Instead, she quit May 31, tired of working 10-hour days for lower wages than her BPS counterparts, the mistrust by administrators, the weeks of dread leading up to June 1:
Our own John Keith writes about a charter school that used state funds to help buy a Bay Village building, sell it at a tidy profit and then use not just that money but more state aid to move to a rehabbed building in Hyde Park.
The sisters of St. Margaret Convent have sent a letter to neighbors that plans by the Bridge Boston Charter School to buy the convent have fallen through:
The process worked as it was intended with Bridge Boston doing their due diligence and determining that they could not make the site work for the special transportation needs of a school. They will be renting space in Jamaica Plain instead.
The Globe reports on a compact to be announced today between the city and publicly funded but privately run charter schools. In exchange for consideration on reusing closed public-school buildings, the charter schools will focus their student recruitment on the geographic area around them, in an attempt to cut the city's school-bus costs.
On Blue Mass. Group, Jamaicaplainiac worries about plans to turn over closed public schools to charters:
Charter schools in Massachusetts have almost no accountability to the public. They are governed by self-appointing boards and are reviewed by the (decidedly pro-charter school) Board of Ed only once every five years.
Chris Faraone considers the arguments by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Mayoral candidate Sam Yoon wants City Hall to take a page from banks and stay open past normal business hours at least once a week so people who work for a living could have a chance to conduct city business. In a statement, he says:
One of the most appealing solutions is to shift hours to offer later services on Wednesday and close earlier on Fridays. We would stay open until 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and close at 2:30 p.m. on Fridays. We would also be able to move the regular City Council meetings to Wednesday evening to allow more people to attend.
Over at the Dorchester Reporter, Mike Deehan and Gin Dumcius have started a podcast on this fall's elections. In their first 'cast they talk about the mayoral candidates' differing approaches to charter schools and take a look at "reprecincting" - turns out that some precinct lines haven't been redrawn in 50 years, so some precincts are humongous while others are minuscule. Podcast feed.
Obligatory disclosure: I do Web stuff for the Reporter folks.
To seek legislation to expand the number of charter schools in Boston; move comes the day after opponent Michael Flaherty called for more charter schools and the day before opponent Sam Yoon planned to call for more charter schools.
But unlike their plans, Menino's proposal calls for the charter schools to be overseen by the Boston School Committee.
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