Gloucester —
Another turning point is approaching for the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School on Dec. 21. The 21st marks the date when the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will determine whether the charter school has satisfactorily met the terms of its probation.
In September the charter school was placed on probation by the state with concerns including the loss of a head of school; decreased enrollment and its affect on financial viability; the violation of laws relating to the construction of its building; and a delayed opening. The school was given until Dec. 21 to meet 12 requirements or face or closure by the state.
“I am pleased that we have met all the requirements of the Department of Education within the designated time lines. I anticipate a positive review,” said Amy Ballin, chairman of the charter school board. “With the hopes that we have restored confidence with the Department of Education, we look forward to moving off probation and focusing our energies on building a high quality school.”
According to an update on the Massachusetts Department of Education website, the charter school, as of Dec. 10, has met many of its requirements but the update does not hint at a final “verdict” as to whether the school will stay open. (The update can be viewed on the Department of Education website: http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/docs/1210/item6.html).
The DOE website also does not address in detail some of the complaints and questions brought forth by critics of the charter school. One complaint, brought forth by Jason Grow, charges that the charter school violated an open meeting law in November.
In a letter dated Dec. 15 to the BESE, Grow states, “As an illustration of their (the charter school board and administration) continued inability to take seriously their situation, less than a week after receiving in-depth Open Meeting Law training from representatives of the Attorney General’s office, the charter school tried to justify holding an illegal ‘emergency’ meeting simply because they failed to properly post and schedule their meeting.”
Grow’s complaint is pending with the Attorney General’s office in addition to earlier complaint filed by Kathy Clancy also relating to an alleged violation of the open meeting law.
In response to the allegations, Blackman said in an interview with the Beacon, “That is not the case. The school has not held an emergency meeting without notice. We’ll wait to see what the Attorney General has to say.”
Another concern brought forth by Grow in his letter to the BESE described the charter school’s “wildly fluctuating enrollment numbers.” As of Dec. 14, Blackman said 75 children were enrolled at the school. He noted that 64 children were enrolled on opening day in September, and 69 children were reported as enrolled to SIMS on October 1. SIMS is the Student Information Management System which tracks enrollment in Massachusetts schools.
“Commissioner Chester’s letter in September caused enrollment to drop from 80 to 64 which resulted in a very lean budget,” said Blackman. “However we are already back to 75 students and I have no doubt our enrollment will continue to grow.”
Blackman was referring to statements made by State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester in mid September that the charter school was not viable and “if parents continued to enroll their students in that charter school…they are risking putting their children in a non-publicly-funded school.”
Despite the tumultuous road and the threat of closure, last week the charter school moved into its newly renovated location inside the former Cape Ann Medical Center. Previously the school was operating in temporary modulars just outside the medical center. Renovation costs were estimated at more than $2 million and were paid for by Mick Lafata, the owner of the charter school property. Lafata will be paid back by the school over a long term lease.
The charter board’s process for choosing Lafata’s property was found to be in violation of the state’s procurement and bidding laws by the Attorney General’s office; the charter board has signed a consent order and is working to resolve the issue as part of its BESE probation.
As part of the agreement with the Attorney General’s office, both Lafata and the Charter School officials had to agree that all state procurement laws must now be followed. It is both the responsibility of the landlord (Lafata) and the school to ensure that any construction project over a certain dollar amount must go out to bid.
“There are two more classrooms we must build as part of our lease,” said Lafata. “And we will follow the law as agreed.”
When asked if his construction workers were paid at prevailing wages, Lafata responded, “We were not in a prevailing wage agreement. The contractors were of course, paid. The agreement we have now is about our actions moving forward, not after the fact. The Attorney General has never asked me to change anything from the past, but I had to agree to the procurement laws in my future work at the school.”
Lafata went on to say that the contractors he employed have not approached him with any complaints and most of them have worked with him for a long time. “Also, most of my other tenants are medical, industrial and commercial, not in government,” said Lafata. “This is my first major job working with a charter school, and I treated it as one my regular tenants. As I said, going forward we will pay special attention to procurement laws.”
According to Blackman, Lafata and the charter school were asked by the Attorney General to amend the lease and the essentially put in writing that they both would follow procurement laws and recognize the past non-adherence to the law. “We just sent our lease amendment to the AG’s office,” said Blackman. “After some nine days of procurement training, I have learned a lot.”
“I am thrilled the students are out of the modulars and into their classrooms,” said Lafata. “The architect did a great job with design and color schemes.”
When asked if he was concerned about the potential closing of the charter school, Lafata responded, “I am confident that the school has met its probation requirements. Should the school close, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
In a tour of the school with the Beacon, Blackman pointed out the various bright spaces and ongoing activities of the students. In one room children sang and performed holiday songs; in another, a study of Italian culture; and in one classroom, a mock trial helped students practice their public speaking skills.
“It has been a long road getting here,” said Blackman as he observed the students. “On Dec. 21, I hope we can look to the future, instead of the past. I am hoping for the best, for the sake of these kids.”
Gloucester School Committee Chairman Val Gilman is planning to speak at the Dec. 21 meeting, and believes the BESE should set a high standard while deliberating the future of the charter school. In an email to the Beacon, Gilman stated, “The probationary compliance plan requested of the charter school board is nothing short of expectations set for governance, transparency and accountability for any public school board. In light of this reality as well as the financial burden that this school will have on our school district, the BESE should demand nothing short of an A+ rating on performance.”
