(Washington Insider Magazine) – Dozens of parents and school communities aspire to include more funding for charter schools in New York’s 2023 budget.
There are more requests and also more mobilizations for the New York state government to include in the budget for fiscal year 2023, an increase in the charter school cap and prioritize funding equity for this autonomous educational model.
Just to cite an action, in this direction, this Tuesday hundreds of families, school leaders and defenders of The Bronx, gathered at the headquarters of the capitol in Albany, urging Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators to increase authorizations for the expansion of this school model throughout New York.
Salsa County is currently home to 94 charter schools, more than anywhere else in New York: Ninety-four of these centers are currently in operation, of which 40 are independent and 54 are part of a network.
Family demand for student enrollment continues to be very high in this county, but several projects to open new campuses and expand existing ones are also waiting to be authorized.
“We know what is best for our children. We call on legislators to respect the right that parents have to choose the best for our children,” requested Natasha Sherry-Perez, spokesperson for the NY Charter Schools Association.
For this to happen, the first step is for the State Assembly to increase the limit of authorizations so that these educational centers can operate. A process that is based on exhaustive operational, academic and financial evaluations so that poor quality schools do not appear on the scene.
Double Waiting List
At least 12 such schools have already been approved by the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Committee, but they are waiting for the legislature to give the green light before they can go ahead.
In addition, all existing charter schools in the Big Apple have waiting lists that amount to tens of thousands of students who aspire to enter these schools for various reasons.
Within the support group for the expansion of this school model is Claudia Espinoza, founder of the Latinas on the Edge of Excellence (LOVE) organization, a mentoring program that supports young Latinas to strive for success, both in school as in life, through health counseling aimed at mental, reproductive and physical health. As well as college and career preparation.
“We simply aspire to replicate the experience of helping Hispanic girls but in a school model. We have the right to have alternatives within public education of innovative programs. We hope that the budget and the limits of authorizations of more charters in our city can be expanded, ”she indicated.
Another Subject: The Budget
Another angle brought to light in this demonstration at the state legislature was that all charter schools in the Big Apple are funded at a much lower level than regular public schools.
The most recent analysis from the New York City Independent Budget Office concluded that these school units were overall underfunded: The bottom line is that they receive nearly $5,000 less per pupil than students in this district.
In addition, almost half of charter schools are located in buildings owned by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), this implies another big problem, since the law of access to facilities approved in 2014, these autonomous campuses apply for rental assistance, only if they are not in a shared space.
This means that privately located charter schools that had reached capacity or established grades prior to the 2014-2015 school year are excluded from this assistance program.
“This essentially means that we are penalized for being long-standing members of the communities we serve,” the New York City Center for Charter Schools said in a statement.
Currently, there are more than 30,000 students in these schools who do not have access to funds to finance the rent of their facilities.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools open to all students, including students with disabilities and multilingual students, but are independent of the DOE, allowing them the freedom to try new approaches and respond to more specific needs in the community.
However, these school units are accountable and have to meet high student achievement goals. If they do not meet their objectives, they can be closed.
The Data:
5.5% has increased enrollment in charter schools in the Bronx despite the fact that this county has lost 3.2% of its population.
This article is authored by Fernando Martínez.
