Charter school supporters, including children of Wal-Mart’s founder, gave over $100,000 in October to New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the 2018 midterm election is around the corner.
Advocates are hoping to expand the number of charter schools in New York City in 2019, the New York Post reported Monday. There are 48,000 students who are waiting to attend such schools while nearly 230 publicly funded, privately operated charter schools are in the city.
Cuomo received $40,000 from Sonia Jones, $25,000 from Jim Walton, $25,000 from Carrie Penner, $15,100 from New Yorkers For Putting Students First PAC and $15,000 from pro-charter school group Great Public Schools PAC, according to campaign filings.
Jones is the wife to charter school philanthropist charter school philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones, the New York Post reported Monday. Walton, 70, and Penner, 48, are the children of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart.
New Yorkers For Putting Students First was created by StudentsFirstNY. (RELATED: Recent College Grads See The Best Labor Market Since Before The Great Recession)
SHUTTERSTOCK/ Josef Hanus
The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 established caps on the number of charter schools that could operate in the state, according to a document from the New York State Education Department. The latest amendment was in 2015, which established a limit of 460 charters.
Both Cuomo and his Republican opponent Marc Molinaro are in support of expanding charter schools in the state, The Post reported. Teacher unions oppose charter schools as most charter school employees are not part of a union.
Cuomo is seeking a third term as governor for the state. A Quinnipiac poll conducted between Oct. 10 and Oct. 16 found Cuomo had a 23-point lead over Molinaro.
Cuomo and the New York State Education Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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