Mayor de Blasio is now getting friendly fire from his lefty supporters regarding the charter school space controversy.
Upset that the mayor didn’t go far enough, Public Advocate Letitia James and Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito are moving ahead with their lawsuit to overturn other charter school co-locations that were approved by de Blasio last week, The Post has learned.
James is hosting an emergency meeting with parents in Brooklyn on Saturday to discuss the decision to proceed with the suit. She had pulled back on the litigation pending action by Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina and City Hall.
“I am writing to invite you to a working group meeting with Public Advocate Letitia James and the plaintiffs of the co-location lawsuit regarding the status of the Department of Education’s planned co-locations,” James said in a letter to Communication Education Council members, PTA presidents and elected officials.
De Blasio is already facing a firestorm of criticism for cancelling space in city school building for three of nemesis Eva Moskowitz Success Academy charter schools that were approved last year by the Bloomberg administration.
But de Blasio actually gave the green light to 14 out of 17 charter schools — the overwhelming majority — to open as planned in facilities to be shared with traditional public schools.
In total, de Blasio approved 36 of 45 co-locations involving all public schools including the 14 charters.
Opponents of co-locations were surprised –and infuriated — that de Blasio approved so many of the space sharing arrangements.
James said she also will present a “suggested set of principles” for the city Department of Education to use for future reviews of school co-location plans.
“We will be holding a press conference to share our new principles with the public and invite you to join us to display our unity in calling for an amended co-location process that strengthens schools and builds a better community,” James said.