Who Is Running City on a Hill Charter School? [OPINION]

Massachusetts public schools and charter schools are funded by the taxpayers. Traditional public schools have elected school committees and charters do not.

The debate about charter schools in New Bedford has been going on for years. The latest development is the planned closure of City on a Hill Charter Schools campus in New Bedford. The students, parents, and teachers from that school are all being left to figure it out.

So who runs the City on a Hill Charter Schools?

The CEO of the whole three-campus operation that is about to be reduced by one-third is Kevin Taylor. According to his own organization, he is both CEO of the schools in Massachusetts while simultaneously the pastor of a church in Brooklyn, New York. His biography lists impressive credentials as a member of the charter school world. A "former news reporter, Kevin majored in political science and mathematics at Tuskegee University." There is no mention of the college degrees he has earned or the professional education licenses he has earned in Massachusetts.

According to the City on a Hill Charter Schools website, there are two members of the Board of Trustees who are only names. There is no picture for three members and there is no biography for two of them. They are simply names without a face and only a website promise of a "bio coming soon!"

Seriously.

Could someone get elected to a local school committee as a phantom? The local media would have a field day with a candidate who refused to be photographed or provide a basic resumé and platform. The law requires a candidate for the school committee to be a registered voter with a public address in the community in which they are seeking election.

Some of the members of the Board of Trustees of City on a Hill Charter Schools are impressive, including Dr. Cara Stillings-Candal and Greg Vasey.

I would like to hear from those two and others on the Board of Trustees exactly what went wrong with their organization and what they believe could be done to prevent this type of implosion of a charter school in the future.

This is a teachable moment.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.