Thousands rally to support NYC charter schools after de Blasio boots them
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Feb. 10, 2014: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio delivers his State of the City address at LaGuardia Community College in the Queens borough of New York. (ap)
The 3,000 or so charter school supporters who rallied Tuesday in Albany, N.Y., want Gov. Andrew Cuomo to toss them a lifeline.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio last week stopped three charter schools from co-locating with district public schools, leaving some children with no option but their district schools.
Charter schools that can’t co-locate have little recourse, as the schools receive less money than traditional district schools. Per-pupil operating funding for charter schools is significantly lower, and charter schools don’t get money to build brick-and-mortar schools, according to the New York Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The three charter schools no longer approved for co-locations belong to the Success Academy network, run by Eva Moskowitz, de Blasio’s political rival. In New York City, Success Academy ranks in the top 1 percent for math and top 7 percent for English, according to its website.
“We are hopeful that Governor Cuomo will listen to us and help us out. He has voiced his support for charter schools, just like the president, just like the education secretary. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when the government doesn’t seem to be on the right track as the rest of the country,” Will Loskoch, principal of a Success Academy school, told the New York Post.