Crawford Strategies managed the communications operation for the Save Our Public Schools campaign to defeat Question 2, a ballot question that would have allowed unlimited charter school expansion anywhere in the state, taken millions of dollars away from successful local district public schools, and caused damaging cuts in the public schools that most families choose. Initial public polling showed Question 2 winning two-to-one, and the concept of charter school expansion received overwhelmingly favorable coverage from media outlets across the state.

Crawford Strategies focused our earned media strategy on the dozens of local media outlets scattered throughout Massachusetts’ small- and medium- sized cities. We built a cadre of local spokespeople and empowered them to speak to the press and send letters to the editor to their local papers, highlighting the potential impact of Question 2 on their local communities. Over the course of the campaign, we consistently controlled the terms of the debate through relentless pressure on our opponents and a strategic, disciplined message.

Through an aggressive grassroots effort, a total of 214 Massachusetts school committees voted to oppose Question 2, and not a single local school board voted to support it. We issued a statement from the campaign in response to every vote, highlighting exactly how much money that particular community was already losing to charter schools. These votes resulted in hundreds of local news stories that emphasized, often with no rebuttal from our opponents, the harm that Question 2 would cause to voters’ own local schools, in their local media outlets.

By the end of the campaign, news coverage of the debate had become much more critical of charter school expansion and the claims of charter school proponents, and even pro-charter media outlets were finally covering criticisms of charter schools that public education advocates have been making for years. A surprising number of newspapers across the state, including several that support charter schools, editorialized against Question 2, citing the arguments made by the Save Our Public Schools campaign.

While the Yes on Question 2 campaign dominated the airwaves, outspending the No side by $10.8 million over the course of the campaign, our successful communications strategy helped convince voters to reject the ballot question by a resounding 62-38 margin.

Salem News, Charter schools hurting local students

Associated Press, Charter school foes cite excessive discipline rates

MetroWest Daily News, Passing Question 2 irresponsible, opponents say

Springfield Republican, Springfield teachers, paraprofessionals gather in opposition to charter school question

WWLP, Most Massachusetts school committees oppose charter expansion

WBUR, Lifting Charter Cap Would Be ‘Apocalyptic’ For Boston, Some Councilors Say

Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise, Question 2 would create separate, unequal school system

Brockton Enterprise, No on charter school referendum