69´«Ă˝

Teaching Profession

Fight Over Charter Cap Erupts in Empire State

February 21, 2006 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

See Also

Return to main story,

A School of Their Own

Even though the American Federation of Teachers’ largest local affiliate has opened its own charter school in New York City, the state affiliate is firmly opposed to plans by the governor and legislators to raise the statewide cap on how many charters are permitted in the Empire State.

Following up on unsuccessful efforts last year, Gov. George E. Pataki of New York is seeking legislation to allow 200 new charters to open in the state, including 50 that would be approved by the 1.1 million-student city school system itself.

“Charter schools work,” the Republican governor told members of the Senate and the Assembly, the legislature’s lower house, in his Jan. 17 budget address. “The entire 100 charters have now been used. So let’s increase the number.”

Several lawmakers and analysts say they are confident that, by the time budget negotiations are wrapped up this year, the governor will get his wish. “I would predict that the cap is going to be raised this year,” said Sen. James S. Alesi, a Republican from Rochester, noting that the plan is winning support not just from Republicans but also from Democrats, who control the Assembly.

“Much of the appetite for charter schools comes from those urban areas and predominantly minority families that want to have a choice,” he said. “So it’s turning Democrat Assembly members, and most of them are people of color, on to an idea that goes against the grain of the way the Assembly operates.”

â€Unproven’ Experiment?

Currently, any charters approved by the New York City school system or any other district must receive final approval from the state board of regents. Under Mr. Pataki’s plan, the regents’ approval would be unnecessary for New York City.

The effort to raise the charter cap will face resistance, however, from the AFT’s powerful state affiliate, New York State United Teachers.

Only a handful of start-up charter schools in the state have explicitly chosen to be unionized, said Peter Murphy, the policy director for the New York Charter 69´«Ă˝ Association. All charters that convert from regular public schools are unionized, based on state law, as well as any start-up charters with more than 250 students.

Testifying before a joint Assembly-Senate hearing this month, a top official with the state union said he believes the state’s charter schools have not proved themselves.

“We cannot stand by idly while the governor dramatically expands the unproven charter school experiment,” said Alan B. Lubin, the union’s executive vice president. “[C]harter schools have not distinguished themselves from public schools in terms of innovative technique, or by raising the level of achievement on state assessments.”

He also objected to the way charters are funded, saying they place a “heavy financial burden on the local school district taxpayer,” and called for major changes to charter finance to address the situation. Mr. Lubin suggested an alternative approach for opening new charters, with a cap tied to local enrollment and local budgets.

For its part, the United Federation of Teachers in New York City recently indicated that it would agree to an increase in the city’s cap if the rules for organizing unions in charter schools were changed.

The union is advocating what’s called a “card check.” Under this approach, if a union collects signed “authorization cards” from a majority of employees, the employer would be required to recognize the union in a collective bargaining unit without the use of a secret-ballot election. It also is calling for anti-retaliation rules that would protect employees who seek to organize teachers in a collective bargaining unit.

“We want to make sure our people are not retaliated against,” said Randi Weingarten, the UFT president.

But the union’s plans are likely to face staunch political resistance. Critics such as Mr. Murphy from the charter school group say giving up the secret ballot for a card check would corrupt the process.

“That is just rife for peer pressure, intimidation, and bullying,” he contended.

Related Tags:

Coverage of new schooling arrangements and classroom improvement efforts is supported by a grant from the Annenberg Foundation.
A version of this article appeared in the February 22, 2006 edition of Education Week as Fight Over Charter Cap Erupts in Empire State

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession New Findings on Teacher Morale Highlight Ways to Make It Better
A new College Board survey on teacher morale echoes some previous findings. But it also highlights opportunities for schools to improve it.
4 min read
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Teaching Profession Opinion Teacher Contracts Need to Change. And It’s Not Just About Money
If we want to retain effective teaches, we should increase teacher compensation—but we need to do it strategically.
Karen Hawley Miles & David Rosenberg
4 min read
Final Piece Of The Puzzle. Two people about to shake hands over trading a jigsaw puzzle piece needed for the solution.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Teachers Say the Public Views Them Negatively
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
2 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession Download Play Teacher TV Bingo and Spot All the Teacher Tropes
It's trope bingo; spot the common (and often annoying) mischaracterizations.
Image of bingo cards, a remote control, and a television.
via Canva