Mayor Petty Among 30 Across the State Voting 'No' on Question 2

WORCESTER, MA—Worcester Mayor Joe Petty is among 30 mayors from across Massachusetts who have announced they are voting no on Question 2, which would allow unlimited charter school expansion in the state.

According to an announcement from "No on 2, Bad for Schools" initiative, 30 Massachusetts mayors, representing cities that will lose nearly $305 million to privately run charter schools this year, oppose Question 2.

The Worcester school district, which enrolls 25,076, is estimated to lose approximately $22,400,194 should the question pass, according to the announcement.

“I join my colleagues from across the Commonwealth committed to creating equitable school districts that give all of our young people the same opportunities to succeed,” said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh in a statement. “If passed, Question 2 would hit Boston especially hard, and the financial impacts to our schools and local services could be catastrophic. I urge everyone in the Commonwealth to vote no on Question 2.”

Combined, the 30 districts whose mayors are voting "no" have more than 292,000 students enrolled in their district public school systems, according to the most recent data available from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

"I am proud that the Worcester School Committee was the first of almost 200 locally elected school committees to vote against lifting the charter cap," said Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty, who chairs the School Committee, in a statement. "Here in Worcester we will spend $24.5 million dollars on charter schools in our city. That is money that could be used to hire more teachers, improve our facilities, and invest in our students."

The following is a list of cities whose mayors are voting "no" on Question 2:

• Attleboro
• Boston
• Braintree
• Brockton
• Cambridge
• Chicopee
• Easthampton
• Everett
• Fitchburg
• Gardner
• Haverhill
• Holyoke
• Lawrence
• Lowell
• Medford
• Melrose
• New Bedford
• Newburyport
• Newton
• Northampton
• Pittsfield
• Quincy
• Revere
• Somerville
• Springfield
• Taunton
• Waltham
• Westfield
• West Springfield
• Worcester

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