The Dartmouth School Committee voted unanimously to stand against a state ballot question that would expand charter schools in Massachusetts, joining about 180 other districts in the state that have passed resolutions opposing the measure.

Question No. 2, which is one of four questions on the state election ballot on November 8, would allow up to 12 new charter schools or expansions of existing charter schools each year.

Superintendent Bonny Gifford said that $133,000 left the district last year after 11 students entered charter schools. Political advertisements that say charter schools benefit public schools “misleading,” said Gifford.

Committee Chairman Christopher Oliver stressed that the public would lack control in how charter schools are run, as there is no board of elected officials like a School Committee.

“[Charter schools] are run by private boards, and it’s a way of taking the public out of education and trying to privatize it,” Oliver said.

Committee member Christopher Garth said he opposes the ballot question because he doesn’t view it as an attempt to help Massachusetts students. “The motive behind Question 2 has very little to do with helping a single student in Massachusetts,” Garth said. “It’s about a much larger national movement wanting to affect change in other states by using Massachusetts as an example.”

Garth added that Dartmouth’s location between Fall River and New Bedford could make it an ideal location for charter schools to serve the two cities. Dartmouth does not currently have any charter schools.

Committee member Shannon Jenkins’ research on the subject has led her to be an expert blogger for WGBH. She said a recent report claiming that charter schools do not take money from public schools was misleading because it only examined only year one of a charter school’s operation, and that reimbursements from charter schools decrease every year under state laws.

Committee member John Nunes cautioned that charter schools don’t just drain public school funds, but added that a host district could be on the hook for transportation costs if a charter school is opened in a town.

Committee member Carol Karafotis also spoke against the ballot question, noting that she views charter schools as detracting from public education.