Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a plan to keep the state’s hundreds of charter schools open while adding more, according to the state budget.
Under Hochul’s $227 billion budget proposal, the state wide cap of 460 charter schools will remain but the New York City (NYC) regional caps will be dropped, allowing at least 85 new charter schools to open, according to the Wednesday state budget. Approximately 357 charter schools are open in the state, with a maximum of 275 allowed in NYC. (RELATED: ‘Sneak Attack’: Charter Schools Sue Biden Administration Over New Rules)
“I believe every student deserves a quality education, and we are proposing to give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed,” Hochul said in a statement to the New York Post.
Hochul is also supporting a plan that would add an additional 11 charter schools that were forced to close after new charter rules were approved by former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2015, the state budget showed. Funding per student of NYC’s charter schools will increase by 4.5% under the state budget proposal.
NYC is set to receive $13.1 billion for school aid and an increase of $569 million for K-12 public schools, according to the state budget. Changes to the budget regarding the charter schools need to be solidified by April 1.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado celebrate their win during an election night party during on November 8, 2022 in New York City. Gov. Kathy Hochul defeated Republican challenger Lee Zeldin to become the state’s first woman to be elected governor . (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)
Several Democratic state senators opposed Hochul’s plan, saying the increase in possibly hundreds of charter schools would take away from public schools, according to a statement provided to the New York Post.
“NYC could see an increase of more than 100 new charter schools,” Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Shelly Mayer, Sen. John Liu and Sen. Robert Jackson said in a statement. “This will further increase the financial burden on NYC traditional public schools, taking much-needed resources away from schools serving the vast majority of our children. The NYC Department of Education is required to provide space for charter schools in DOE buildings or pay the rent for charters operating in private buildings.”
Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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