Opinion: With BayCoast out, state must reject Innovators Charter School proposal

Following the withdrawal of BayCoast Bank’s support for the proposed Innovators Charter School, the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools insists that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley reject the charter school’s application.

The decision by BayCoast to end its relationship with Innovators Charter School, which would serve grade 6-12 students in New Bedford and Fall River, calls into question the stability of the charter school and reiterates the lack of local support for the school.

The charter school's application reads: “As a Founding Group and proposed Board of Trustees (BOT), members bring expertise in finance, real estate, marketing, fundraising, community development, early college and education.” BayCoast Bank offered expertise in the areas of marketing, fundraising, and, above all else, finance.

The stability of the charter school is in question now that three board members, including the vice chair of Innovators Charter School, Nicholas Christ, and treasurer, Kevin Briggs, have withdrawn themselves from the school's application. The treasurer plays a critical role in maintaining the financial health of the organization. According to the charter school's proposal, the treasurer is responsible for developing the budget, directing the board’s financial work in accordance with its bylaws, ensuring that all members of the board fully comprehend the financial matters of the school, and approving all financial reports. Briggs will no longer be involved in managing the fiscal health of the school, something the charter school's proposal and application touts.

Innovators Charter School will need to remove the following statement from its application to the state: “Founding Group members have significant public and private financial experience, including a current bank president with more than forty-five years of financial experience and leadership” and “prospective BOT Treasurer with more than twenty years in the financial services space … .”

The charter school's application has always been littered with red flags. As described during a public forum held by the state and in other forums, the application demonstrates a woefully inadequate plan to meet the needs of emergent bilingual students and students with disabilities. Now, the school’s governance structure and application are in complete shambles.

Civil rights organizations, business leaders, educators, school administrators, parents, students and elected officials have uniformly criticized Innovators Charter School as both unnecessary and unwelcome.

It would be unethical for BESE to push this application through under these conditions. Due to the recent loss of critical board members, it is unlikely that Innovators has a solid management structure that will enable the charter to achieve its goals. It is unlikely that BESE will have adequate time to assess the new Board structure and financial stability of the organization as Innovators Charter School applicants scramble to rearrange school leadership just weeks away from application approval.

BESE must learn from its past mistakes that have harmed New Bedford students and their families. The board allowed the City on a Hill charter school to continue operating despite being in financial and managerial disarray. The school abruptly closed in 2020, failing to meet the needs of students and the community.

If BESE takes its responsibility seriously, it must reject the application and require Innovators to go back to the drawing board to develop a board with the capacity to effectively govern the school.

If BESE does not, it significantly lowers the bar for charter school approval and sends a message to communities that the state does not care about the community’s consent or the quality of schools.

Cynthia Roy and James Roy are members of the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Opinion: With BayCoast out, state must reject charter school proposal