As Albany wraps up talks on the budget, it’s time for Gov. Cuomo to make good on his vow to save charter schools.
Parents, students and teachers at these public schools are desperately hoping a budget deal, expected within days, will ensure a secure future for charters.
Mayor de Blasio put the whole future of charters at risk by attacking their weak spot: their lack of guaranteed space. Even though they are public schools, charters have no automatic right under current law to a building or to funds to pay for space.
Up to now, charters in the city received their space mostly by the grace of the Bloomberg folks. In sharp contrast, Mayor de Blasio has imposed a moratorium on co-locations, denied charters funds for buildings, vowed to charge them rent and taken back space promised to three of them.
In so doing, de Blasio exposed their vulnerability. This is what needs fixing. And lawmakers have already floated proposals to grant charters the funding they need. It’s now up to Cuomo to see that it happens as the budget is settled.
Yes, de Blasio tried to make nice with charters after his attack on them sparked an uproar. He now says he’ll end his ban on co-locations after devising “a fair system.”
But why should charters be asked to rely on the word of a politician who has also vowed to squash them? What kind of guarantee is that? Remember, in seeking to make amends, de Blasio apologized mostly for what he characterized as a miscommunication. And though he also offered to find space for one of the three charters he axed, he hasn’t said much about the other two.
By contrast, Cuomo told 11,000 charter parents, kids and teachers at a rally that he stands with them. He said he’s “committed to ensuring charter schools have the financial capacity, the physical space and the government support to thrive and grow.”
Charter kids couldn’t ask for more encouraging words. Now they need the action that makes them real.