STATEMENT BY CHARTER CENTER CEO ON MAYOR'S CALL TO LIFT
STATEWIDE "CAP" ON PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
Continuing the effort to make New York City the most charter-friendly district in the nation, Mayor Bloomberg today boldly called for the elimination of the statewide statutory "cap" on charter schools in New York and proposed doubling the number of these independent, performance-based schools in New York City from 50 to at least 100 new schools, by 2009. And in the same way as the Mayor has taken responsibility for the performance of NYC public schools, he has asked to be held accountable for the creation of NYC public charter schools.
It is essential that we lift the statewide cap on charter schools, and we enthusiastically applaud the Mayor for supporting its elimination. We also take this opportunity to call on other leaders in New York to come together in a unified effort to expand charter schools as public education alternatives for students and families residing in some of the city's neediest communities. Recent test scores, long wait-lists at charter schools and growing parental demand all point to the urgent need to remove barriers detrimental to the creation of more high-quality public charter schools.
With the Mayor's call for the ability to grant additional charters in NYC, he has responded proactively to the numerous educators, entrepreneurs and community groups who have expressed interest in opening high-quality charter schools in many of the city's underserved communities. In just two years the number of charter schools in NYC has doubled. Much of that success can be attributed to the resources and support the Mayor and Chancellor Klein have put behind the charter school movement in NYC. We now have 47 schools serving more than 12,000 students. In New York City alone there are more than 30 applications pending to open schools in 2006, and 50 more in development for 2007, and beyond. However, the number of charter school proposals under consideration far exceeds the 15 available slots. Unless we lift the statewide cap now, we will stop the growth of charter schools.
We thank Mayor Bloomberg for his leadership and support. In our role as "advocate, bridge and catalyst" for NYC public charter schools, the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence looks forward to working with all New York government leaders to increase educational opportunities for deserving NYC students and families.
Paula Gavin, CEO
NYC Center for Charter School Excellence
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