Charter schools are a win for taxpayers

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I’ve heard a lot of local chatter lately about Common Core. I know teachers are distressed and parents confused. To be honest, I don’t know enough about the issue to come down on one side or the other.

Let me tell you what I think works in education: charter schools. And our representatives in Albany are starting to catch on.

Last week the State Senate passed the Brighter Future budget plan, which would create a new property tax rebate program for middle-class homeowners, extend historic opportunities to students and make significant investments in New York’s infrastructure to create good-paying jobs. The proposal favors charter schools, and would accept Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to allow 100 more of the schools to open statewide. It would also increase funding for charter schools by $225 per student next year, even more than the governor’s state budget would.

The evidence is clear: Students succeed in charter schools. Who are we to stand in the way of achievement? Let them thrive!

There will always be foes of any successes that go against the status quo. As Daily News reporter Josh Greenman pointed out in an article titled “The truth about charter schools,” the debate continues to be one of the most contentious ones in education. Greenman wrote, “Put two New Yorkers who disagree on charter schools in a room and get them going, and you could be watching an Israeli and a Palestinian in an argument on the streets of East Jerusalem.”

Are all charter schools successful? No, but you can easily make the argument that many do succeed. In fact, as Greenman pointed out, overall, charters in New York City are outperforming their peer district schools.

Here on Long Island, there are a handful of charter schools, namely in Hempstead and Riverhead. The State Senate’s and governor’s proposals would allow for more. The Lawrence Charter School is already in the works. A group of residents of the Lawrence school district, frustrated by what they describe as “underperforming students,” have applied to open a new charter school.

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