NY state could pick up mega-millions cost of Hochul’s proposed 22 new NYC charter schools
Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing the state cover the multimillion-dollar cost of housing 22 new charter schools in New York City to help silence critics of the expansion, a well-placed source told The Post on Tuesday.
Under current state law, the city has to pay the rental costs for a charter school to locate in a privately owned facility, as well as the price of co-locating charters in some of the Big Apple’s public schools.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has said the proposed 22 new charter schools would cost the city $200 million to $300 million, absent reimbursement from the state.
The entire issue of opening more charter schools has been a major sticking point in state budget negotiations, with the teachers’ unions on the one side opposing them and education reformers backing them.
Hochul proposed lifting the state cap on the number of charters to allow dozens more of the schools to open in the city on top of the 275 currently operating.
But New York City Mayor Eric Adams griped that allowing up to 100 more of the publicly funded, privately run schools — as Hochul wanted — would cost the city treasury $1 billion.
The city is currently paying about $75 million in rental assistance for charter schools in private space alone, according to the Independent Budget Office. That amount doesn’t include the built-in cost of co-locating the students in city public schools.
After fierce resistance from the teachers’ union and their allies in the legislature, Hochul and lawmakers have tentatively agreed to the reissuance of so-called “zombie” licenses from now-closed charters, sources have said. The move would allow 22 new charter schools to open, with Hochul suggesting the state pick up the entire tab for locating them, said the source close to budget negotiations.
Relieving the city of the building costs would likely remove City Hall’s objections to any expansion.
The mayor’s office reacted cautiously to the last developments on charters.
“As all New Yorkers, we are still awaiting final budget details, but we always appreciate and welcome Albany’s support to meet the needs of New York City’s children and families,” a City Hall rep said Tuesday.
But the battle over charter schools remains volatile, despite the outlines of a tentative deal.
The Democrats who control the state Senate are still digging in their heels, trying to extract more concessions or scuttle the deal, said a source familiar with the deliberations.
They are demanding language to ban co-locations of charter schools in city school buildings, forcing them to find space elsewhere, the source said.
Senate Democrats also want some sort of “saturation cap” to bar more charter schools from opening in neighborhoods where 55% or more of the students are currently enrolled in charters.
Currently, only more students in Harlem’s District 5 are enrolled in charter schools than in traditional public schools.
Charter foes such as the United Federation of Teachers and the advocacy group Class Size Matter are keeping up the fight to block any deal from getting into a final budget.
“The State Legislature should stand its ground,” said the Alliance for a Quality Education, another anti-charter advocacy group.
Hochul, during a press briefing in Albany on Tuesday, acknowledged there are still “objections” in the legislature to even a compromise on a more limited charter expansion.
But she insisted something has to be done.
“I believe in public schools. But it’s hard for me to turn my back on 50,000 parents who put their names on waitlists so their kids could have a different alternative,” Hochul said of students awaiting charter-school placement.
“So that is the struggle that is going on right now. I’m trying hard to overcome the objections, but this is a very challenging issue because of the emotions on both sides.”
Students in charter schools, which have a longer school day and year, typically outperform their counterparts in traditional public schools on the state’s standardized Math and English Language Arts tests.
Hochul confirmed she moved off her original plan of eliminating the city cap on charters and is now trying to forge a compromise on the 22 unused or “zombie” charter licenses.
“I would say it’s zombies, yes. But there are many elements and complicated issues surrounding this, so we’re working on it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Assembly Education Committee Chairman Mike Benedetto (D-Bronx) told The Post early Tuesday there was a deal on charter-school expansion — only to call back hours later to say that he was mistaken.
“Nothing has been agreed to,” said the Bronx Democrat, a charter school antagonist.
Charter-school supporters who received state approval to open but can’t because of the cap said it’s time for Albany to act.
Elsie McCabe-Thompson, CEO to the Harlem-based Mission Society, said the anti-poverty group’s proposed Minisink charter school would provide preference to students who reside in public housing and limit class sizes to 12 students.
“Our school would be good for students and good for teachers,” said McCabe-Thompson, noting the Mission Society would provide the school space in its own building.
The Math Engineering and Science Academy charter high school, or MESA, in Bushwick — would be able to open a second high school in central Brooklyn if the cap is lifted.
“We want to keep families in New York City, and one way to do that is to provide high-quality education options to parents and students,” said MESA co-executive director Arthur Samuels.
“Legislators are voted in office to look after their constituents’ interests. The agreement shows they understand that this is something parents want.”
