News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Contact:	Heidi B. Perlman 781-338-3106 or Jonathan Palumbo 781-338-3105

Board of Education Votes to Not Renew Lynn Charter

MALDEN - In a final vote on the issue, members of the Board of Education voted unanimously at a special board meeting on Tuesday to not renew the charter for the Lynn Community Charter School. The final vote comes several months after the Board first voted 7-2 in February not to issue a second 5-year-charter to the school, due to significant organizational and academic flaws. Following that vote, LCCS officials requested an adjudicatory hearing, claiming the state's charter school renewal regulation and administrative guidelines were "vague" and that the decision-making process was unfair. The hearing was held in May, and in a 60-page decision released last week, hearing officer Judy Levenson rejected all of the school's arguments. Board chairman James Peyser said that after reading through the transcripts and viewing the videotapes of the five-day hearing, he agreed "wholeheartedly" with her findings. "Renewing a charter is not about plans and promises; it is about results," he said. "And the results to date for the Lynn Community Charter School are not sufficient to justify renewal." LCCS is now required to remain closed, and will not reopen in September. Commissioner Driscoll has conferred with Lynn officials to ensure the school's students will have a smooth transition into the Lynn Public Schools in the fall. This is the first time the Board of Education has voted to not renew a school's charter since the state's first charter school opened in 1995. The state's charter school statute was enacted in 1993, and there are 42 charter schools currently in operation in Massachusetts. Another five are scheduled to open this fall.

Last Updated: June 18, 2002