Op-ed: Thank you, State Board of Education, for approving 4 new charters

I want to wholeheartedly applaud the state Board of Education for expanding educational options for our children by approving four applications for new charter public schools. Not only did the board approve two schools for next year, but it also approved two additional schools (one in Bridgeport and one in Stamford) for the year after, contingent on available funds.

I attended the state board’s meeting on Wednesday in Hartford. I saw and heard the passion and intellect of the educators who will run these schools. And I matched that against what I see and hear on the ground in Bridgeport – the crying need for better schools, and the yearning of our parents for a brighter future for their children.

The need is palpable. The desire is real. And now the opportunity is coming.

That’s why I’m so baffled at Sen. Beth Bye’s complaints, reported in today’s CT Post, that the board somehow made a mistake in approving the Stamford school and the second Bridgeport school. With all due respect, she doesn’t seem to give our parents enough credit for understanding that these schools will only open if there’s funding.

Approving all four schools was the right thing to do – educationally, fiscally, and morally. Before they took the vote, board members listened to hours of testimony both from people who want these schools to open – including me – and those who don’t. There wasn’t an iota of information they lacked, nor a perspective unvoiced.

I congratulate the Board of Education. Yes, they have raised hopes for our families. I am confident those hopes will be realized, and urge Sen. Bye to work with us to make it happen.

Yours Because of Calvary,

Kenneth Moales Jr., Bridgeport

The Rev. Kenneth Moales Jr. of Bridgeport is senior pastor of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. He serves on the Bridgeport Board of Education and is former chairman of the board.