MCKEE

CUMBERLAND — Schools Supt. Donna Morelle this week criticized Mayor Daniel J. McKee’s proposal to create a system of charter schools under the mayor’s supervision, saying that his proposal seeks to override the authority of the School Committee and would hurt public school finances.

“As a professional, I’m not a territorial person, but the law speaks to who has care and control of the schools. It’s very clear. It’s the School Committee,” said Morelle, citing Title 16-2-9, the state law that lists the general powers and duties of the school committee.

Last week, McKee announced that he would seek General Assembly support for a low-cost, “high-performing” public elementary school separate from the existing school system and serving Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln and Cumberland.

The school would be supervised by Cumberland’s mayor or a board of mayors from the five communities, but the day-to-day operations would be run by a nonprofit organization specializing in running schools, according to McKee.

Under a tentative, five-year plan, the 150- to 200-student school in the Valley Falls section of town would be the first of several schools in a regional school system serving Blackstone Valley communities.

McKee yesterday did not dispute that the School Committee has final say over the current public school system, but he did not say what role, if any, the committee would have in the proposed system. He also hinted that he may be willing to forgo his original plan for giving his office some authority in the new school system.

“I do not want people to confuse this with a mayoral takeover of the education system. We just want regional public schools that address the need to contain education costs and improve student performance. How the governance model [of the proposed school system] will look will fall into place, but it’s too premature to say.”

The state Department of Education is suggesting that McKee try creating a school under the current charter school provision. (The General Assembly currently prohibits the opening of new charter schools.)

In Rhode Island, only existing public schools, groups of public school personnel, public school districts, state nonprofits, groups of school districts, and colleges and universities are eligible to apply for charter school status.

There is no provision addressing what role, if any, mayors or town administrators may have in the operation of a charter school, so in order for McKee or a board of mayors to have oversight over a charter school the assembly would likely have to pass an amendment to state law.

McKee said last week that the proposed school would need a $500,000 initial investment that he expected to come from private donations and major grant-writing foundations, not municipal money, and that it would run largely on state financing.

Morelle, who says she has been approached by McKee regarding his proposal, challenged that assertion: “Charter schools take money from school committee budgets….. And if he has grant funds that can be directed into a public school system, why aren’t they going here? How does he explain putting money into a new network of schools when he is not willing to fully finance our academic plans?”

McKee said that a sit-down with state DOE officials yesterday had made him change his tune somewhat on financing the school.

Under state law, a charter school takes a contribution from both the state and the municipality where the student resides. The amount of those contributions, which is based on a district’s expenditure per pupil, varies from community to community.

“It’s a very complicated issue, but at the end of it, there will be more education dollars coming into Cumberland because there will be more state contributions to education going to schools in town,” McKee said.

pmarcelo@projo.com