GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Among the competitors, oglers, and voyeurs obsessively tracking the Governor David Paterson rumor mill is another, slightly unexpected group: charter school supporters.

These principals, financial backers, and activists see the governor’s crisis as just the latest in a series of disappointing Albany-based developments for their movement — all of which have them concerned that their once-solid political support is wearing thin.

The air of anxiety can be traced back to last summer’s State Senate power struggle, in which the Republicans who had supported them for years regained and then lost control. When the dust finally settled, the one Democrat who seemed to be on their side, Senate President Malcolm Smith, had lost power. The effects of that change became clear last month when the Senate nearly passed a bill charter supporters said would kill the schools’ growth. (more…)