‘There is room for everybody,” public charter schools and public traditional schools alike, Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy said Tuesday, speaking for the governor.
If Andrew Cuomo truly believes this, now’s the time to prove it.
Mayor de Blasio makes no secret of his plans to strangle charter schools. Their sin has been to out-perform their union-run, non-charter counterparts. His strategy is to deny charters classroom space.
Last week, his schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, announced plans to slash $210 million meant for charter-school construction. De Blasio also plans to deny charters space in public-school buildings. He’s even vowing to charge some charters rent.
This creates an opportunity for the governor to prove he’s the “students’ lobbyist” he says he is, by riding to the charters’ rescue. In his documentary, “Waiting for Superman,” filmmaker Davis Guggenheim put faces to the parents and children who see charters as the only escape from failing public schools. A governor committed to making room for “everybody” in our education system has plenty of options.
For starters, Cuomo could push for legislation to rectify the unfair funding formula, which denies public charters state aid for construction while granting it to traditional public schools. More immediately, he could work out a deal with de Blasio to save the 25 charters set to share space with traditional public schools under a Bloomberg-era plan; de Blasio has threatened to quash part or all of that plan.
Let’s face it: Under de Blasio, charters are fighting for their lives. Only one man can save the day and ensure New York makes “room for everybody”: Super Andrew.
Is he up to it?