ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo and legislative leaders reached a tentative deal Thursday on a package that will offer charter schools greater protections — increasing per pupil spending and providing rent money for the first time.
The deal, part of overall state budget negotiations, is a big win for Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz, who lobbied hard in Albany after Mayor de Blasio axed three of her charters last month. Cuomo made fighting for charters a key priority, putting him at odds with the mayor.
The agreement will require the city to give space to her three schools, though they don’t have to housed be in the district school buildings Moskowitz had wanted.
“There’s still mayoral control over the Board of Education and over the buildings,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Thursday night. “The mayor will have to provide alternatives.”
If the city can’t find suitable public space, it would have to pay rent for the three charters in private buildings, a source said.
For the industry as a whole, principals and advocates described the agreement as a mixed bag — offering new charters a chance to grow but failing to provide an even playing field with district schools.
The plan does not offer state building aid to charters to make up for the $ 210 million in capital funding de Blasio recently cut, sources said.
“This deal allows chartering to continue in New York, and that is very important,” said Bill Phillips, president of the Northeast Charter Schools Network. But he said the lack of building aid hurts charters located in private space.
Moskowitz declined comment, as did de Blasio.
Those briefed on the plan say that per pupil funding for the charters will jump by $ 1,100 over three years — $ 250 per student in year one, $ 350 in year 2 and $ 500 in year 3.
Charter schools in New York City currently receive $ 13,527 per student, nearly 30% less than traditional public schools.
The state, not the city, will pick up the additional costs, the sources said.
The final budget deal will include $ 300 million in funding for de Blasio’s push to expand prekindergarten and additional money for after-school programs. It will also for the first time allow the city and state controller to audit charter schools.
The charter issue became an unexpected battle in the state budget negotiations after de Blasio killed three out of eight co-location agreements for Moskowitz’s schools. Cuomo and the bipartisan coalition that rules the Senate vowed to protect the charters in the budget process.
The city, under the tentative plan, would have to pay up to $ 40 million a year to cover the rents of any new charters in private buildings.
With Ben Chapman
Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News
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