Ratcheting up the pressure on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, former President Bill Clinton yesterday urged the state Assembly to pass legislation to lift the cap on charter schools.
“Absolutely, I do,” Clinton said when he asked whether he backed a charter-school expansion — taking a rare position on a controversial state issue.
“And I don’t think they should do it just because of the federal funding,” Clinton said, referring to New York’s plan to apply for up to $700 million in Race to the Top grants.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said during a promotional soccer event in Harlem at which the former president announced he would serve as honorary chairman of the United States’ bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
“The [Assembly] should follow the Senate and lift the lid,” Clinton said.
Silver is a fierce ally of the teachers union, which opposes a measure passed by the Senate to raise the cap on charters from 200 to 460.
Clinton’s pro-charter remarks drew applause from participants.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton today also will back legislation to lift the charter-school cap.
Sharpton — who will meet with US Education Secretary Arne Duncan today — told The Post he supports an Assembly version of the bill.
New York and other states have until June 1 to file their plan to apply for school-reform funds.
Joined by Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Duncan will visit Kings Collegiate charter school in Brooklyn today to urge the Assembly to pass a pro-charter bill.
The Democrat-run Assembly hasn’t budged since the Senate took action — although there are back-channel negotiations now taking place that could lead to a compromise, sources said.
Children from Harlem’s Sisulu Walker charter school — one of the first to open in the state — attended the Clinton event.
For his part, Sharpton said: “I’m working with the president and Secretary Duncan on their education agenda. I believe charter schools are a choice students should have.”
Sharpton said he’s also spoken with United Federation of Teachers boss Mike Mulgrew to help broker a compromise.