Dear Commons Community,

On Tuesday, the New York Post published an op-ed piece by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal in which he criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hostility to charter schools, saying that the mayor’s actions have the “markings of a tyrant holding low-income students hostage.” He also accused de Blasio of “[embarking] on a systematic campaign to destroy the city’s burgeoning charter school movement” and said the mayor’s “immoral policies will limit the futures of yet another generation of African-American youths.”  As reported in The Huffington Post:

“Jindal’s op-ed refers to de Blasio’s decision in late February to block the space-sharing agreements of nine city schools, including three schools from high-profile charter school operator Success Academy.

De Blasio has diverted more than $200 million away from charter schools since taking office and has floated the idea of making well-off charter schools pay rent.

Jindal’s op-ed ended with an attack on President Obama and the Department of Justice, whom Jindal has sparred with on the issue of voucher schools. In August, the DOJ filed a lawsuit to partially block the implementation of Louisiana’s voucher program, designed to give low-income children the opportunity to attend private schools.

According to the DOJ’s lawsuit, the program violates previous desegregation orders in more than 30 districts.”

Bobby Jindal is an ultraconservative Republican who has many issues with anyone who thinks progressively.  His attack in this op-ed will be interpreted in New York as a vote of confidence in what Mayor de Blasio is doing.  New York welcomes criticisms from the likes of Jindal, Bachman, Palin, Hannity, and Limbaugh.

Lastly, the fact that the op-ed piece appeared in the New York Post (one of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids) only adds support for what de Blasio is trying to accomplish which essentially is to improve education for all children in New York not just those in charter schools.

Tony