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turf wars

Moskowitz’s school on the move again, DOE says

The Department of Education is proposing to bring one Harlem space war to a close by moving one of Eva Moskowitz’s charter schools to another building.

Under the proposal, to be released tomorrow, Harlem Success Academy II would move out of the building it currently shares with P.S. 123 and into the East Harlem building currently occupied by KAPPA II, one of the 20 schools the DOE plans to shutter.

The new proposal is likely to be greeted with cheers by parents and teachers at P.S. 123. Whether it will be embraced by P.S. 30 and P.S. 138, the two district schools that currently share their building with KAPPA II, is less clear.

Harlem Success Academy administrators were also not enthusiastic about the plan. Jenny Sedlis, spokeswoman for Success Charter Network, which operates the charter school, said the school considered its possible move a setback.

“The union has won this space war,” Sedlis said.

“Harlem Success Academy II must move in order for it and P.S. 123 to grow to full capacity,” DOE spokeswoman Ann Forte said in a statement. “We considered several options for Harlem Success including underutilized buildings and current buildings where phase-outs have been proposed.”

Harlem Success Academy II has in recent years become the epicenter of the ongoing dispute over whether the city should grant public school space to charter schools, which are not guaranteed public building space by law. Parents at P.S. 123 bitterly fought the initial plan to locate the charter school inside the district school. Last year, the city teachers union successfully stopped the city’s plan to close P.S. 194 and give that building space to the charter. And the school’s continued presence inside P.S. 123 still draws protests.

Sedlis said the proposal was an example of what she characterized as the misconception that the city favors charters at the expense of district schools.

“We endure blockades, protests and name-calling on a regular basis,”  Sedlis said. “We’ve gotten kicked out of no fewer than four spaces.”

Like all proposals that significantly change the way school building space is used, the plan will have to undergo a public comment period and be approved by the citywide school board.

  • Ellen

    How weird is that quote “The Union has won the space war”? I was under the impression that space wasn’t what Harlem Success was about. This is an adult? Moving around is difficult and time consuming and expensive. If the charter schools were to actually find the space they needed, that didn’t have an adverse affect on other schools and students, we wouldn’t be in this “space war”. I travel NYC and see empty spaces. Rent is high, but so is the cost of refurbishing and rehabilitation, without the guarantee of permanence. Maybe the funders could assist the charter schools in finding appropriate space…..or at least assist in the rental costs while more fundraising for purchase occurs.

  • John Shaft

    To Ellen

    Currently, the speed of the public charter school movement is slowed because there is not enough space in existing public schools or NYC real estate to meet the demand. It would be in the best interest of public school advocates to share space now, improve, and possibly avoid the death of their industry, instead of pushing public charter schools to build new buildings. Forcing public charters to build or lease space to house their scholars will only accelerate the demise of traditional public schools. And how do we know this? Because parents are desperately trying to get their children out of NYC public schools, especially the parents in undeserved communities. Harlem Success Academy, a public charter school, had over 5000 applications for 600 seats. Most, if not all public charter schools, have extensive waiting lists much like their private school counterpart. Imagine what NYC public schools would like if public charter schools had open enrollment instead of a lottery.

  • Ellen

    To Mr. Shaft
    I am not for or against charter schools, public schools, independent schools or private and religious schools….or home schooling either. There are more than enough children in this city to attend these schools. But any one who wants to see youngster educated should be involved in “space wars”.
    If there was a better approach to planning space needs and more effort on the part of the funders…private or public…to provide schools to families with adequate space and adequate facilities, we could co-exist…..hopefully with out pointing fingers or calling names.
    Not enough real estate? That I find surprising, especially with the new buildings coming on line every day.
    And speed didn’t serve the hare so well…planning quickly, on the run, only leads to a temporary solution, and to space wars and to the bitter taste of rueful reflection. Education takes a lifetime….built year by year, with time to enjoy and savor the acquisition of knowledge. Speed? that’s a drug. The John Shaft of fame , got rid of drugs in his neighborhood.

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