Lynn Teachers Rally Against Proposed Expansion Of KIPP Academy Lynn

LYNN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Lynn Public Schools teachers rallied Monday morning against the proposed expansion of the KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School. Organizers said the plan would take away $24 million from the public school budget.

The staged walk-ins took place at eight schools in the city, including outside of Lynn Classical High School. Lynn Teachers Union President Sheila O'Neil was there.

“The special programs that we have across the city for our students, those would be decimated,” O’Neil said. That includes the early childhood and early college programs.

Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Evonne Alvarez said parents have been supportive, and the response from students has been powerful.

“We have a platform for innovation and that KIPP doesn’t offer any of those programs,” she said. “So what would students do to actually get those offerings?”

The Lynn Teachers Union said that LPS is already losing $30 million a year to charter schools, and if the proposal goes through, that number would rise to $54 million a year. .

But it's not just Lynn. Federal pandemic funding for public schools ended on Monday, causing teachers and education leaders to hold walk-ins across the country.

"These federal pandemic funds were the most significant investment in public education since the mid-1960s and was the closes public schools came to receiving full federal funding," the Lynn Teachers Union said in a press release. "The end of this funding comes at a precarious time for many public schools, including Lynn's, which are working hard to make up ground lost as one of the cities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Jessica Tang, president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, said the proposed expansion of the KIPP Academy Lynn would have a "devastating impact that further exacerbates the funds that are already being lost due to the end of [pandemic] funding."

WBZ NewsRadio has reached out to KIPP Academy Lynn for comment.

WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.

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