School Choice & Charters A National Roundup

Mass. Officials, Charter School in Standoff Over Shutdown Order

By Karla Scoon Reid — September 27, 2005 1 min read
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Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly is asking a judge to force a Boston charter school to close.

The state board of education voted Sept. 14 to revoke the charter of Roxbury Charter High Public School, upholding a decision last December to shut the school down because of financial and administrative problems.

The school’s last day of operation was supposed to be Sept. 16. But the school is defying the state board decision and continues to hold classes for some 70 students.

Mr. Reilly filed a lawsuit to enforce the state board’s decision in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston on Sept. 22. A hearing on the suit is scheduled for this week.

Cornelius Chapman, a lawyer representing the school, said Roxbury is now running as a private school. He said the school plans to file an appeal of the state board’s decision in the Suffolk County court.

Heidi B. Perlman, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Education, said the Roxbury school does not have the required approval from the Boston school board to operate as a private school.

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A version of this article appeared in the September 28, 2005 edition of Education Week

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