Worcester Wants State Auditor To Examine OSV Ties To Charter School

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester School Committee will hold a special meeting Monday to ask state officials to examine the financial ties between a proposed new charter school and its sponsor, Old Sturbridge Village.

The meeting will come one day before the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is set to vote to approve the Worcester Cultural Academy's charter. Secretary of Education Jeffrey Riley has already recommended the board OK the school.

The lone item on the agenda for Monday's Worcester School Committee meeting is to "request the State Auditor and the Office of the Inspector General investigate the financial arrangement of Old Sturbridge Village, Inc. and Old Sturbridge Village Academy Charter School and Worcester Cultural Academy Charter Schools."

Old Sturbridge Village will receive management fees from the school, although its curriculum will be managed by EL Education, a New York-based charter school company that has helped run dozens of charter schools across the U.S., including Christa McAuliffe in Framingham.

But Old Sturbridge Village — a museum that allows visitors to experience early 19th Century New England agricultural life — has also said the new charter school will provide a revenue stream. The company's fiscal year 2022 report highlights the proposed Worcester charter along with the existing Old Sturbridge Academy as key to the museum's operations.

"The academies will provide reliable, contractual revenue to the museum, safeguarding us against fluctuations in uncontrollable factors that impact admission revenue such as weather and public health," Old Sturbridge Village CEO Jim Donahue wrote in the opening letter of the 2022 annual report.

The school committee and Worcester City Council have also opposed the charter school, in part because it would use about $7 million in funds that would otherwise go to Worcester Public Schools.

Superintendent Rachel Monarrez will speak at Monday's meeting in opposition to the charter.

"The Worcester Cultural Academy proposal is financially motivated with many flaws, and will not serve the educational needs of the diverse student population of Worcester," she said in a news release Friday. "It is imperative that the Worcester School Committee, the families and community members of Worcester, our legislative delegation, and state Board of Education members understand the significant impact this plan could have on students."

The school committee's meeting on Monday will happen about an hour before the DESE board is set to hold a special meeting, primarily to discuss the Worcester Cultural Academy.