Dear Commons Community,
New York State senators gathered at City Hall on Friday to protest a plan in Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget to increase the number of charter schools in the city.
The proposed changes, outlined in her budget, would scrap a regional limit on charters issued in the city and revive so-called “zombie” charters — schools that count toward a statewide charter cap but have ceased operations. As reported by The New York Daily News.
“This is a really flawed proposal,” said Sen. Shelley Mayer, chair of the education committee. “The governor should withdraw it.”
Hochul’s proposal could pave the way for an estimated 100 additional charters citywide, though Hochul would keep a statewide cap at 460 operators. Roughly 275 charter schools currently operate in NYC.
The budget would also invest $34.5 billion in overall education, including a $2.7 billion increase in Foundation Aid, the state’s need-based formula that will be fully funded for the first time ever this year.
“While the governor is giving with one hand fully funding Foundation Aid, she’s yanking the rug out from other kids by diverting money potentially to new charter schools,” said Sen. John Liu, who chairs the NYC education committee. “And that is not right.”
Sen. Robert Jackson, who took legal action as part of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity that gave rise to the state formula, added: “We’ve won that Foundation Aid fight, and we will fight to make sure that all of the children in New York City get a good education.”
The lawmakers were joined by city and union officials, members of the Panel for Educational Policy, and other parent advocates. In total, eight of 63 state senators blasted the proposal on Friday, while other legislators have rebuked it on social media.
City Comptroller Brad Lander said the proposal would be “devastating for the city’s budget,” putting traditional public schools in a bind financially.
“They are going to be faced with this devil’s bargain of like, do I lose my music teacher or my art teacher or have larger class size?” said Lander.
Charter school backers in a pamphlet distributed Friday morning accused the legislators of misinformation and “downright untruths.”
“Instead of creating and perpetuating myths about public charter schools, elected officials should take the time to listen to families in their own communities who are overwhelmingly in favor of charters,” said James Merriman, chief executive officer of the New York City Charter School Center.
“Legislators attempting to block that growth aren’t fighting the so-called ‘charter industry.’ What they are doing is standing in the way of parents simply trying to do what’s right for their kids,” he added.
The Charter School Center said that lifting the cap would allow for schools designed to serve vulnerable children, like students with dyslexia, impacted by the juvenile justice system or in the foster care system. Charters are also held accountable by authorizing entities and government agencies, and must prove their value every few years as part of a renewal process, they said.
Despite blowback from the state’s upper house, the governor continued to stand by her proposals.
“Hochul believes every student deserves a quality education, and NYC parents and students deserve the same access to educational options as those in the rest of the state,” said a spokesperson for the governor. “We are proposing common sense fixes that will give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed.”
It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next several months!
Tony
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