During NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 12 years in office, NYC has gone from 17 charter schools to 183. Charter school supporters are adamant this growth continue under the city’s next mayor, and thus are concerned about proposals by Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio.
As reported by SchoolBook:
De Blasio, the Democratic candidate, could slow charter expansion by limiting access to free space in public school buildings. It's a plan which would significantly hamper charter schools' expansion plans, both for opening new schools and meeting the needs of existing schools that are adding new grades each year.
Department of Education attendance data and school progress reports showed an enrollment increase in charter schools of nearly 25 percent each year since 2009, bringing the total number of students enrolled to about 70,000 this year. Charter school advocates and operators also point to a waiting list with more than 50,000 students.
"I think it would be great if we could continue a rate of growth such that all the parents who wanted to attend charter schools had that opportunity," said Jacob Mnookin, executive director of Coney Island Prep charter schools, a small charter operator with two schools.
