But before CCSC can expand to take older students, basic planning for this year has to be completed.

In fact, CCSC has no building, no chairs, an incomplete faculty, and an undetermined curriculum, although Stellman says she is optimistic that a lease in Kendall Square will be negotiated soon, and that faculty hiring and planning will follow soon afterward.

PASSING THE TEST

Another argument for the necessity of the charter school is the widely reported poor student performance in the Cambridge school district.

At a presentation at the Kennedy/Longfellow School last Wednesday, Cambridge Public School District Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn said Cambridge schools ranked 311th out of the 373 Massachusetts school districts—a list that includes both districts and individual charter schools—on the statewide MCAS exams required for high school graduation.

Moreover, Cambridge schools spend more per pupil—about $15,000—than the vast majority of public schools in the state, which average around $9,000 per student.

But while Fowler-Finn admits that MCAS scores need improvement, he disputes claims that the school district is underperforming and cost-inefficient.

He says that student-faculty ratios in Cambridge are low and that the top half of students at CRLS are high achievers on the SAT. Part of the high cost, Fowler-Finn says, goes toward kindergarten and special education—which are not guaranteed at other Massachusetts schools.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

In addition to defending the education available in the school district, local officials say they do not believe charter schools offer a solution to public education’s problems.

But two Harvard experts on public education say the main claims of city officials are not supported by current research.

Contrary to Fowler-Finn’s assertion, Professor of Economics Caroline M. Hoxby ’88, whose research focuses on economics and education, says studies show that charter schools significantly outperform local district schools once they have been up and running for three to four years.

She adds that at charter schools established for more than six years, scores are more than 10 percent higher than those in the district.