New Bedford Public Schools are underfunded by $40 million according to the latest data. Now, two privately run charter schools are asking the state for an additional 1225 seats. This would cost the city $15 million, which would further deplete the resources they need to educate all New Bedford children. Charter schools, by contrast, do not educate all children. They have a record of selective student access, disproportionately low rates of ELL and SPED students, and they are not accountable to the same state requirements. This decision will not be made by New Bedford residents but by one man, DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley. Please urge him to recommend against this expansion.