NYC Eyes Moving Millions from Charter Schools to Pre-K
February 3, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
New York City’s top education official said Friday that she wants to redirect $210-million allocated to create classroom space for charter schools and other nonprofit groups into expanding the city’s prekindergarten programs, The New York Times reports.
Detailing her department’s $12.8-billion capital plan, Chancellor Carmen Farina said the shift in city funds would boost existing pre-K programs and build space for an additional 2,100 students over five years. Broadening early education was one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature promises during his campaign last year.
Mr. de Blasio has been a critic of charter schools, which are publicly financed but privately run, often by nonprofits. He has called for the city to concentrate its resources on traditional public schools. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg put charters at the center of his education strategy and set aside city funds to pay for facilities for them.
