AMHERST — A panel of education experts will discuss at a forum Tuesday their views on whether Massachusetts should vote to raise the cap on the number of charter schools.
The forum will be streamed live at www.gazettenet.com from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The forum comes ahead of the Nov. 8 election, when voters will decide Question 2, a measure that would allow up to 12 additional charter schools or expanded enrollments in existing charter schools each year.
Panelists are Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association; William Diehl, executive director of the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton; Marc Kenen, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public Schools Association; and Julia Mejia, parent of a Brooke Charter School student in Boston.
It will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in room N151 of the Integrative Learning Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Organizers recommend parking in the campus garage.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette is among the sponsors of the event.
Laura Dintino, event marketing coordinator at the Gazette, The Recorder and the Valley Advocate, said the publications organized the forum to help provide information about a divisive issue that is confusing to many.
“There’s been a lot of advertising on both sides of this issue,” she said. “It’s a complicated issue and kind of confusing.”
The MTA has been among the most vocal opponents of Question 2, while the Charter Public School Association is in favor of the measure. And Diehl has written about the differing impact of charter schools in rural area compared to urban areas.
A panel of local journalists and the audience will ask the panelists questions. The event will be streamed live on the websites of the Gazette and the Recorder. Those unable to attend are also invited to ask questions via Twitter using #maforumq2, Dintino said.