For those who aren’t aware of the controversy regarding Gloucester and a new Charter School, The Gloucester Community Arts Chapter. The school is scheduled to open in a few weeks and it appears that it will do so in spite of an attempt of a local group to gain an injunction to prevent that opening. The strange part of this case is that the judge, Essex County Superior Court Judge, Richard Welch, refused to grant the injunction in spite of his finding of legal impropriety by the Commissioner of Education, Mitchell Chester:

Welch’s ruling Monday, on a request by a group of 15 Gloucester parents for an injunction barring the charter from opening, said the plaintiffs showed “considerable evidence” that Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester “blatantly ignored and violated state law when granting the GCA charter for political reasons.” So, if it was clear to Judge Welch, why then didn’t he order the Commissioner to be arrested and held for arraignment charged with criminal activity and malfeasance in office?

Adding more to this mess is what appears to be a direct relationship between Governor Patrick’s office and Commissioner Chester:

“Since the [Gloucester] Times uncovered an e-mail from Education Secretary Paul Reville urging Chester to approve the GCA application as a “bitter pill,” Patrick has twice called for the charter to be revoked. The second time was after state Inspector General Gregory Sullivan accused Chester of lying to state lawmakers and having documents shredded to cover his trail.” For more on this topic click here and scroll down to “Mired in Gloucester: Reville email taints process for charters Worcester Telegram and Gazette Editorial”

Many towns are lining up for Charter School grants in an effort to get their kids into better systems that focus more on education than they do on indoctrination. The parents of students want more say over what is and isn’t taught and want to be able to hold schools accountable for their failures and to praise them for their successes. Parents have little to no voice in the public school system; witness the pledge of allegiance controversy in Arlington, the decision to make condoms available to grade school children in Provincetown, the “King and King” controversy in Lexington.

In all cases, parents were left out of the conversation until after the decision to proceed was made. That is the error and the major source of anger, more so than the substance of the issues. Admittedly, there are always those on each side of an issue who will never be happy regardless of how a choice is made. That is precisely why it is imperative to hold a discussion with the community before entering into what is going to be an obvious area of controversy and discontent. School officials need to remember that they are public servants and that they work for the parents who support the town through taxes. Parents and children do not work for the teachers or school administrators. It is my hope that if anything like these issues occurred in Billerica, at the very least, all of the top administrators would be immediately fired and the school administration turned over to private administrator until replacements can be found, vetted and hired.

Aside from the asinine decision to make condoms available where grade school children could access them; even if it was for the express purpose of water bombing their buddies on the way home, it was a stupid decision because it epitomizes the level of arrogance educators and activist assume when blithely hampering parental concerns. A good example comes from the TIME magazine NewsFeed [which kind of explains as well why TIME is dying as a magazine]:

But some are still upset because they say giving condoms to students “should be a parent’s decision.” Right; because 16-year-olds commonly ask their mommies for rubbers! Parents, we all know forbidding teens from doing things doesn’t work, so if your kid is going to get busy in the back of a pick-up truck — regardless of whether they should be or whether you approve — given the choice, wouldn’t you rather they used protection?

The key point in the above is highlighted and italicized. What more information do educators and reporters need in order to understand legal custody and consent issues? Most parents are responsible in rearing their children; although, I have to admit to running into more cretins with kids now than back in the day. But, those kids need more help than a condom from a school nurse or a counselor; they need to be investigated by child protective services [another government agency with a less than stellar record] and held to account either by having the children removed from their “care” permanently, or until they can prove they are worthy and responsible parents at some point down the road. Notice, I said proving as opposed to claiming their responsibility level.

Abused and neglected children are more likely to be observed and reported in a charter school setting than in a public school where politics and covert policies rule over legitimate and sincere concern for the welfare of children. A privately run school is more likely to indemnify themselves from lawsuits for making such referrals and for expelling poor, disruptive and violent children. Children are more likely to be protected from assaults and classroom disruptions by other children, or even murder, as occurred in the John Odgren case, because this sort of child would not be admitted solely on the merits of compliance with political correctness. At least the jury in the Odgren case didn’t do the politically correct thing and confine him to a psychiatric unit – that alternative was available before he was forced into the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School by goofy government policies and the force of farcical law that demands equality when it is obvious that differences will always be present between these children and the general population.

If you take Odgren’s lawyers defense that Odgren has an “organic brain disorder” and should be in the care of a doctor, not prison guards.”{That] [h]e needs help,” then you have to ask yourself why this wasn’t recognized by the parents before they forced their bastard monster into the lives of others and impinging on their rights? This is yet another case where the rights of one individual supersedes the rights of his neighbors; even though it is apparent that the rights of the neighbors are the ones being harmed, and enforcement of Mr. Odgren’s right to be and to slow the process of education is being applied in contravention to the rights of individuals as delineated by the United States Constitution. My rights end when the exercise thereof infringe unjustly on your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This age of “The Handicapper General” needs to come to an abrupt close. Hopefully, the coming elections will begin that process having awakened sufficient number of formerly sleeping voters who are taken for granted, overlooked and forgotten.

With this said, why, do you suppose, are those in Gloucester not willing to at least give the program a try? What would you say to a Charter School for Billerica? The judge didn’t close the door on closing the door. He included an ominous statement to those who support the Charter School, regardless of how the town received approval:

Welch suggested that by January, when the city is working on a budget for next year that will not include full state reimbursement for charter school expenses, another preliminary injunction might be successful.

“As the court stated at the hearing on this matter, the calculus regarding preliminary injunctive relief changes markedly during the next academic year,” Welch wrote in the decision. “At that time, the traditional Gloucester public schools will suffer significant financial harm. The GCA cannot claim any justifiable reliance regarding financial commitments/staffing if this court reconsiders the injunctive request early enough to allow planning by both sides for the next academic year.”

“Likewise, any student who chooses to attend GCA this September will be aware of the inherent uncertainty involving the next academic year,” Welch added.

Check with the Commonwealth’s Department of Education and see where our town stands on the list of those communities in waiting and check back frequently to see how that list changes with the political climate. Don’t forget to vote; that is, unless you are too lazy to evaluate the records, the ethics, and the direction your candidates wish to take us. If you are planning to vote on blind faith, do the rest of us a favor and stay home. Politics is truly a blood sport and it cares not about where the blood comes from; opponent, private citizen, child or infant. To those in power, we are all fair game; even those who react like deer in headlights – standing still with a big target on their chests.