Two elected officials from the Bronx recently announced legislation that would help charter schools pay rent, according to the Bronx Times. State Senator Luis Sepúlveda and Assembly member John Zaccaro Jr. were at a rally in Albany celebrating 25 years of charter schools in New York City when they shared legislation that aims to amend a current law that would provide rental assistance for all of New York City’s charter schools. According to them, this would allow charter schools to use the additional funds on extracurricular and after school programs.
In 2014, the Facilities Access Law made it so that charter schools that were new or adding grade levels could go through a process that would either give that school space within another school, a private building at no cost, or help with rental expenses. The legislation that Sepúlveda and Zaccaro Jr. have introduced would apply to all charter schools, 94 of which are in their borough of the Bronx.
But is this good news?
Not everyone thinks this is great news though. Education advocate and CEC Presidents’ Member Thomast Sheppard took to Twitter to say that the article is misleading because, “nowhere else do Charters receive “rental assistance” and that “what IS a funding disparity is Charter Schools receiving approximately 20% @NYCSchools funding when they are only 10% of schools.”
Similarly, the executive director of the nonprofit Class Size Matters, Leonie Haimson, says that NYC is the only district in New York state or the U.S with this obligation, which costs $100 million per year. She also says to follow the money- both Sepúlveda and Zaccaro Jr. have been given significant donations from charter school supporters. Haimson says public school advocates and parents should instead show support for Senator John Liu’s bill, which “would remove the unfair, expensive and onerous obligation for DOE of having to pay charter rent.”
