Do
you support the charter schools program? Would you expand/limit
it?
HB: I would support and expand charter schools, which have
been approved by the legislature. These schools are still public
schools. We don’t have approval for school vouchers. Nobody is
going to abolish the public school system. The thing to do is
to improve the public schools.
MB:
As Mayor, I would recognize and reward success by establishing
charter districts. Eligible districts would be those that have
demonstrated success in improving student achievement and a record
of fiscal responsibility. There would be no increase in the district’s
budget, but there would be freedom from bureaucratic meddling
and the authority to purchase services such as transportation
and supplies. We must continue to support the development of parent-initiated
charter schools.
FF:
I believe that charter schools play a useful role in our school
system. They can be the laboratories of the school system, enabling
us to discover new teaching strategies that will work for our
children. I do not believe, however, that they are the panacea
for the system’s ills. For the same reason, I am against the privatization
of our public schools. Our system needs leadership, not experimentation
with for-profit companies that have no proven record of increasing
student achievement.
MG:
Yes. I support the development of charter schools. For thousands
of families, they represent another important frontier within
the public school system.
AH:
There are also 161 specialty schools. Yes, I support the charter
schools. It’s the law and we can live with it. But, the devil
is in the details. The great advantage to them is they provide
the opportunity to have smaller schools. I don’t think [private
management] is necessary. I did not support the Edison takeover.
I do not have the sense that private management is automatically
any better than public management.
PV:
I support charter schools, but I do not support the privatization
of schools. I am not opposed to increasing the number of charter
schools in the City, but I believe that we must continue to approve
applications on a case-by-case basis.#
Click
Here to Close Window and Return to Questions
Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001. Tel:
(212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2001.
|