How does one answer a completely loaded, manipulative, junky questionnaire from DFER?

Craig Kelley, Cambridge City Council, facebook:

How does one answer a completely loaded, manipulative, junky City Council questionnaire like the one these people, calling themselves Democrats for Education Reform, just sent to me? People for Public School Privatization would, I suspect, be a more accurate name given their pro-Charter stance. It's not the first slanted questionnaire we've received, but, arguably, it's the worst.

Craig Kelley facebook:

My response to "Democrats for Education Reform."

Dear Liam:

Having thoroughly reviewed your questionnaire, I have concluded that answering the questions you pose would not add any value to the important public discussions that we, as a City, as a state and as a nation, need to have about improving public education. Your pro-PARC, pro-Charter School stance is very much at odds with what so many of us public school parents, teachers and staff feel is an attempt to corporatize and privatize public education while also overly constraining teaching in a way that robs teachers of one of most valuable assets, creativity.

Charter Schools operate under different rules than regular District schools and have astoundingly high enrollment decreases compared to those schools. The Community Charter School of Cambridge, for example, loses, on average, close to 60% of its 9th grade cohort by the start of 12th grade while the District high school only loses 10%. Based on information I got from the Department of Education’s website, CCSC also has a suspension rate of about 6 times the rate of CRLS. In short, Charter Schools like CCSC operate under special rules that allow them to selectively attract and then keep students while our local Districts take all comers. That is not a useful for the future of public education.

I remain committed to working educational professionals, policy makers, parents, students and others to create and implement real, scalable improvements to our public school system. Your questionnaire does nothing to help move that work forward.

Sincerely,

Craig Kelley

Cambridge City Councilor