New waitlist numbers quickly stir charter school debate

STATE HOUSE — There are 32,646 Massachusetts students are on waitlists for admission to charter schools, according to updated figures released Thursday by the Department for Elementary and Secondary Education.
The department's report, based on March data, shows that 74 of the state's 78 charter schools have waiting lists of students who applied for seats but did not gain admittance. Most of the students — 27,089 — were on waitlists for just one school, while the remaining 5,557 appeared on more than one waitlist.