State Ed Confers About New Bedford Charter Schools [PHIL-OSOPHY]

New Bedford public charter schools matters will be addressed in a special meeting tonight held by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The debate continues locally over whether or not New Bedford public charter schools have a negative impact on the school budget. The charter school folks say the basic premise in school financing is that the dollars follow the students wherever they choose to go, while New Bedford officials maintain it's a red herring and that monies diverted threaten police, fire and road crew funding.

It will be very interesting to see what the state officials have to say tonight. Although the meeting will take place in Malden at 75 Pleasant St. from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., you can stream it online here.

In my opinion, the charter school funding formula, when first adapted in the early 1990's, was okay for funding back then, but that was 25 years ago. It's now 2019 and that formula is archaic and ineffective for today's needs.

Tune in tonight, and if you have any questions, contact the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at (781) 338-3112 or email boe@doe.mass.edu.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 am to 10 am. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.