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Great Schools Massachusetts delivered thousands of petitions to Springfield City Hall in support of lifting the cap on charter schools in the Commonwealth. (Don Treeger / The Republican)
(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)
A ballot campaign to increase access to charter schools, which has support from some of the state's top Republicans, now also has support from a powerful Democratic-leaning business group.
The Alliance for Business Leadership, a coalition of progressive business leaders, on Thursday announced that it was supporting a ballot campaign to lift the cap on charter schools. Business, and particularly the financial industry, has emerged as one of the major forces behind the campaign.
"Lifting the cap on public charters is a social justice issue," said Jeff Bussgang, Alliance for Business Leadership Chairman and General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, in a statement. "Massachusetts may have one of the best public school systems in the nation, but for too long the achievement gap has prevented our kids from reaching their true potential."
The ballot question would allow the state to approve up to a dozen charter schools a year outside of an existing cap, with preference going to low-performing school districts and districts that have charter school waiting lists.
Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, is a strong supporter of the initiative. Other supporters include Latino groups and several business groups, among others.
The Alliance for Business Leadership brings to the campaign progressive political clout in the business world. Its president is Jesse Mermell, who was a top aide to former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. Board members include prominent Democrats such as Tufts Health Plan CEO James Roosevelt, 2014 gubernatorial candidate Juliette Kayyem and former U.S. Ambassador Alan Solomont.
Businesses and the financial industry have been emerging as top supporters of the charter school initiative. Some of the top funders of the ballot campaign include Paul Edgerley and Joshua Bekenstein, both managing partners at Bain Capital; Abigail Johnson, CEO at Fidelity Investments; top executives at the Baupost Group hedge fund; and partners at a handful of other private equity and investment management companies.
Opposition to the charter school expansion effort is being led by the state's teachers' unions, who argue that expanding charter schools will drain resources from the public schools.