Governor Undermines Historic Investment in Public Schools With Permanent & Massive Charter Expansion 1

Governor Undermines Historic Investment in Public Schools With Permanent & Massive Charter Expansion

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 1, 2023) — In response to Governor Hochul’s Executive budget address on Wednesday, the public education advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education released the following statement:

“We applaud Governor Hochul for keeping her promise to New York’s children by fully funding the Foundation Aid formula at 100 percent for the first time since its creation nearly two decades ago,” said Jasmine Gripper, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education. “The Foundation Aid formula was created to ensure equity and to strategically drive state resources to the students that need it the most. This means that districts with high populations of students in poverty, students that are English Language Learners and students with disabilities will see a significant increase in state aid.”

“Unfortunately, this historic investment may not reach many of the children in New York City due to the Governor’s proposal to drastically expand the number of charter schools in New York City by removing the regional cap and reauthorizing ‘zombie charters’. Allowing a drastic increase in new charter schools in New York City will siphon off millions of resources that would otherwise be going to public schools, which educate 80 percent of the student population there.  

“New York City currently spends about $3 billion per year on charter schools, a price tag that will continue to increase because it is the only district in the nation required to pay rent for charter schools, and the only school district in the state that does not receive charter school transition aid to offset those costs. At a time when New York City is grappling with a declining population of school age children due to a number of factors, there is no justification for increasing the number of charter schools in New York City.

“We urge the New York State Senate and Assembly to completely reject the Governor’s proposals to remove the regional cap on charters and reauthorize ‘zombie charters.’”