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race to the race to the top

May 28, 2010

Race to the Top bill passes Senate, lifting charter cap to 460

by Anna Phillips, at 4:14 pm

It’s over, folks. The State Senate voted this afternoon to allow 260 more charter schools to open in New York State in the next four years, improving the state’s likelihood of winning Race to the Top.

The vote was 45 to 14, with a handful of senators who had been vocal opponents of charter schools swinging to the pro-charter side. Among them was Senator Bill Perkins, whose Harlem district is home to one in five of the city’s charter schools, and who is facing a primary against a candidate put up by charter school supporters.

Opposition to the bill came from Senate Republicans, who opposed a provision in the bill that bans more for-profit charter schools from opening.

The no votes (via Liz Benjamin) were: Farley, Flanagan, Golden, Griffo, O. Johnson, Larkin, Lavalle, Libous, Maziarz, McDonald, Nozzolio, Padavan, Saland, Young.

With both the union and charter school supporters declaring victory, let the spin begin.

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  • I noticed that…

    I hope the powers that be made the right decision! Diane Ravitch clearly listed the 10 reasons to say “N0 to the Race to the Top” grant. If NYS wins this questionable grant money, then who will be the point people to keep track of making sure that the guidelines in the RttT are truly, legitimately, being adhered to. I have yet to see the chancellor follow any of the state laws, regulations, guidelines, or rules. What about the profit-making charter schools, why should they grandfather those schools? They should stop making money off of the children as of NOW!

    Those legislators who have a stake in these profit-making charter schools should step down or disclose to the public their ties to the charter schools, how much money support they are providing to them, and release their financial records to the public.

    The creation of the next new charter schools must have open enrollment first and foremost to the ELLs, the special needs students (not just resource room students, but all levels of special ed students), level 1 students, and students in shelter. If the charter schools follow those guidelines, then I will say to everyone it’s a fair process and it’s equitable.

  • http://www.sinksalive.blogspot.com KitchenSink

    Hey INT, if you could come up with an enrollment process by which charters could enroll more of the categories of kids you mention (for example, having a “zoned school” charter school) then bring it on! What are your ideas?

  • Mustafa

    Bye bye for profit management groups! That’s a victory!

    Was Klein vetoed on granting charters? That would be a victory too.

    I hope the people have been given real power to fight like hell against forced co-locations too.

    Now Mayor Mike can concentrate on all of the rest of the schools that he has Mayoral control over. And maybe, he can focus on streamlining Tweed to prevent layoffs.

    And perhaps, Gothamschools.org can focus on district public schools too. I love you guys, but enough charter crap already. With the new anti-profit management legislation, watch as the Post stops focusing on charters, and watch as the management groups leave for New Jersey. Sorry Jersey, but good riddance.

  • http://nyceducator.com NYC Educator

    Hey, I’ve got an idea. How about we stop starving zoned schools of resources and treating them like bastard stepchildren? How about we stop overloading them to 200% capacity when they don’t have enough space and start allowing them to grow and thrive when they do?

    It’s just one of my wacky madcap notions. I’ve no doubt no politician or newspaper would entertain such radical nonsense.

    They’ve all got better ideas.

  • Mustafa

    ^^^I love it! Go NYC Educator!

  • http://nyceducator.com NYC Educator

    Thank you kindly Mustafa. It’s kind of a dark week what with charters getting a big boost while the kids I teach are ignored as per usual. The plans to fire their teachers and dump them into classes even more overcrowded than they have now barely merit the attention of all those smart politicians.

    After all, who’s gonna pay them off for supporting my kids?

  • http://incongressional.com Esteban Rodriguez

    We’ll I think we all knew that the charter school cap would be raised. There was just too much political pressure to make sure it happened.

    I find myself slightly encouraged that Senator Perkins voted for the bill since he was a vociferous proponent for strong regulation. I haven’t read through the whole bill but lets’s hope it has some teeth.

  • bookworm

    Another step towards a two tiered-education system where the charters skim the best students with the most involved families, leaving district schools with the “leftovers”. Charters also divide and conquer parents who no longer have a local school as a community gathering place. Hard to keep tabs on what’s going on in the school when the kids who attend the school down the block are all bused in from elsewhere and the kid next door from you is bused to a school 2 neighborhoods to the east while your kids are bused to a school 2 neighborhoods south and the mom across the street’s kids go to a “magnet” school on another borough.

  • remember in November

    I want to thank the following legislators for voting against the lifting of the chapter cap: Farley, Flanagan, Golden, Griffo, O. Johnson, Larkin, Lavalle, Libous, Maziarz, McDonald, Nozzolio, Padavan, Saland, Young.

    All others, I will remember in November!! I will tell my friends and families to remember in November. I will also tell my students who turned 18 and will graduate this year to remember in November.

  • kk

    @bookworm

    I am not a proponent of charters, but, in our incredibly segregated city, I am not such a fan of neighborhood schools either. I think unzoned schools are a way of injecting some sort of racial and socioeconomic diversity.

    In my area, to the south there is a predominantly white school and not so far north from it a predominantly black school. I have chosen to send my kids to one of the (noncharter) unzoned schools you belittle. There, there is no dominant ethnic/racial group, which is something I highly value.

  • Ellen

    And what happens if NY doesn’t get RTTP money>? Or are we going find out that there were scandalous machinations behind all of this raise the cap hoo- hah

  • Pingback: New York Expands and Gets Tougher on Charter Schools « Political News and Opinion for African-Americans on Politic365

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