6 new charters to be approved

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Regents to OK 6 charter schools

Friday, December 9th, 2005

The State Board of Regents is expected today to approve six new charter schools - leaving only eight more slots in the state for charters.
Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Pataki and other charter supporters have called on the Legislature to eliminate or raise the 100-charter-school cap - a move that Albany insiders say is in the works - but the issue remains controversial. Detractors say charters draw resources from regular public schools.

Charters are taxpayer-funded schools that operate outside the regular public school system. In New York City, there are 12,000 kids in 47 charters.

Students in many of those schools have earned higher test scores than their peers in regular schools, generating interest from parents and enthusiasm from educators.

There are 20 charter applications now vying for the eight remaining slots. Dozens more are in the works across the state. The Regents will select four of those schools. The State University of New York will choose the other four. Both votes are expected in January.

The six charters expected to be approved today include two in Harlem, two in Brooklyn, one in the Bronx and one in Buffalo.

Erin Einhorn