To the editor,

Now is not the time for a 47% student population increase at Lynn’s charter school, KIPP Academy. Charter schools were created in 1993 under the Education Reform Act. Little has changed regarding the accountability and funding formula for charter schools in Massachusetts. In Fiscal Year 2024, under the Chapter 70 per-pupil funding formula, Lynn Public Schools had to pay more than $30 million to KIPP Academy. If the expansion is approved, another $24 million will be paid to KIPP Academy, equaling more than $54 million each year. The ongoing siphoning of indispensable public school funds from the Lynn Public Schools is wrong. Simply put, the Lynn Public Schools can not sustain the current charter school funding formula and the inequitable four-year reimbursement formula. I recently substitute taught at one of our elementary schools and witnessed firsthand the dedication and commitment of our public school teachers. I commend the members of the Lynn City Council voting in favor of the resolution to oppose KIPP’s expansion during the 2024-25 school year. I would have done the same thing.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Castle

Lynn