Public Employee Press

State raises charter cap, enacts reforms

A law enacted May 28 raises the maximum number of charter schools to 460 from 200, to better position New York State to get $700 million in federal Race to the Top public education grants.

Many state lawmakers saw the move as a way to increase education funding, but lifting the cap does not guarantee the funds. If RTTT funds are awarded, they cannot be used to help close the state's current education budget gap.

The change was a victory for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the pro-charter, wealthy Wall Street hedge fund managers who positioned paid lobbyists in Albany. DC 37, New York State United Teachers and community groups opposed the expansion, but won a series of reforms, including greater accountability and requirements that charter schools accept children with special needs and give parents a real voice.

The law prohibits for-profit companies from operating or managing charter schools, limits New York City Chancellor Joel Klein's power to authorize charter schools, and gives the state comptroller the right to audit them.

Charters are privately run, mostly nonunion schools that often share facilities with public schools and get tax dollars. The new bill provides that when charter schools housed in public schools get capital improvements worth over $5,000, the same improvement must be made to the public school in that facility.

The bill stops short of addressing the oversaturation of charter schools in poorer communities or their location in public schools. Of the city's 100 charter schools, the majority are in Harlem and low-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Unions are critical of charter schools that deny employees their right to organize. Recently, charters have come under scrutiny from education experts for their poor performance records and overall lack of accountability.