Why does Bill Perkins hate kids?
The teachers-union front, a Democratic state senator from Harlem who has thousands of kids in his district prospering in charter schools, will nonetheless convene a hearing in Manhattan on Thursday intended precisely to damage the charter-school movement.
Specifically, Perkins’ charter-school bash-fest is meant to advance a bill undercutting the privately run public schools — even as thousands of parents in his own Harlem district are clamoring for more of them.
“We hope to educate . . . the public on the structure and operation of charter schools and the companies they contract with,” Perkins said.
He whines that charters are “unregulated” — which is partly true, but which in fact may account for their stunning success.
Results, of course, don’t matter to Perkins at all.
Now, no doubt he has reasons for opposing Harlem families; the rest of us can only speculate what they are.
Just who is Bill Perkins?
Well, he’s 60 years old and, he says, a “lifelong resident of Harlem.” This makes his disdain for residents there all the more odd.
Or maybe not. For he’s also himself the product of free private-school education, at the Collegiate School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Having been spared the traditional public-school experience, it’s at least possible he doesn’t really understand the potential consequences of what he’s trying to do.
Oh, and he’s never held a serious private-sector job.
The senator began his public-sector career soon after college as a “community activist,” his Web site says, and as a social worker. In 1998, he joined the City Council and won election to the Senate in 2006.
Again, we can only guess as to why Perkins wants to deny kids in his district — and elsewhere — the same opportunity he got.
But here’s a thought: The teachers unions, which resent competition from charters, have been very, very good to him: Perkins has raked in thousands in campaign contributions from New York State United Teachers alone since he first ran for Senate in 2006.
Here’s another: He generally abhors the idea of private firms in public education.
“For-profits should not have a place in educating our children,” Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D-Bronx, Westchester) said as Perkins announced the hearing.
Maybe he has other ideological — or political — reasons. But whatever’s motivating Perkins, clearly it’s not charter-school performance.
Indeed, in Central Harlem — which Perkins represents — charter students passed state math and English tests at a rate some 20 points higher than surrounding zoned schools.
Nor is it what parents in his district want: The New York City Charter School Center reports that more than 10,000 applications were filed this year for a mere 3,100 charter-school slots in his district.
Already, some 21 percent of first graders in the area attend charters. Surely, charter students would be an overwhelming majority, if only there were enough seats.
It’s numbers like those that explain union opposition to charters: They know the schools they monopolize can’t measure up to the competition.
And while Bill Perkins isn’t their only tool in New York City, he may be the most egregious opponent of the best interests of his constituents.
And that is perplexing.