SALEM — Salem is experiencing an influx of new charter school proposals that stems, in part, from a new law impacting school districts with the lowest MCAS scores in the state.
An education reform law, passed earlier this year, allows charter school spending to double in districts where MCAS scores are in the bottom 10 percent of the state. Salem falls into that category.
Since the change, four proposed charter schools — three high schools and one K-8 school — have filed proposals to serve mainly at-risk students from Salem.
The city already has one charter school, Salem Academy, which opened in 2004 and enrolls more than 300 students in grades six through 12.
Among the fresh round of proposals is a prospectus submitted by the Salem School Department to run a downtown Salem Community Charter School that would serve about 100 dropouts and students at risk of dropping out.
School Committee member Brendan Walsh, a critic of the way charters are granted and funded, said he is suspicious of the other applicants.
"If you make a pot of money available over which local authorities have no control, then you're going to attract opportunists," said Walsh.
Charter schools are independent, publicly funded schools that operate under five-year charters granted by the state Board of Education.
In addition to the school department, the Salem charter applicants in this cycle are:
Road to Success Charter High School, which wants to serve up to 320 at-risk students from Salem and Lynn. The group applied for a charter last year but was rejected.
Richard Milburn Academy, which wants to open a high school serving up to 250 students from Salem and Lynn who are at risk of not graduating.
Lynn Preparatory Charter School, a proposed K-8 program, which would serve 324 students Salem and Lynn.
Richard Milburn Academy (RMA Inc.) operates 13 charter schools in Florida and Texas, according to Peter Briggs, who is president of RMA Texas and RMA Virginia.
"There's clearly a need in this area, and so why not?" said Briggs, a Gloucester resident. "Our company knows how to work with at-risk students."
The Lynn Preparatory prospectus was submitted by Joanne Civitarese, the principal of a private school in Swampscott, the Hathaway School. A message left at her office was not returned before press time.
Changes to funding
Approximately 270 Salem students attend charter schools now, primarily at Salem Academy or the Marblehead charter school. The existing cap on charter school funding allows roughly 215 more students to attend charter school.
Under the new law, however — which will allow 18 percent of Salem's net school spending to be channelled to charter schools — approximately 970 students could attend charter school, based on this year's budget figures.
Under the new law, the current 9 percent cap will be lifted to 12 percent next year, and then increase 1 percent each year until it reaches 18 percent.
"We do hold back some seats to allow for fluctuation in net school spending and the expansion of existing charter schools," said JC Considine, spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "We hold back as much as 25 percent for those reasons."
In all, 42 groups have submitted prospectuses to the state looking for approval for new charter schools, many in lower-performing cities like Salem that are affected by the new law.
By mid-September, the state will invite some of these groups to submit a full application, due Nov. 1. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote to award new charters in February.
Staff writer Amanda McGregor can be reached at amcgregor@salemnews.com.
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