Valley Streamer protests increased state funding for charter schools

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Maribel Canestro marched with about 100 others in Mineola on March 24, to protest what she believes is exorbitant funding for charter schools in the latest draft of the state’s budget.

“We’re parents, we have children in public schools,” said Canestro, a Valley Stream resident whose children attend District 13 and the Central High School District. “And what’s going on with charter schools — they’re stripping away money from our public schools … and we have a big problem with that.” Canestro found out about the protest on social media.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s draft of the state budget would increase charter schools’ tuition reimbursement by $22 million. Additionally, the Republican majority in the Senate approved a resolution on March 15 that would remove a cap on state aid allotted to charter schools, and further increase state funding for non-public schools.

Those funding increases would include an additional $34 million for reimbursable security costs for non-public schools, $15 million for non-public school safety grants, $7 million more than the executive budget proposal for services aid, $25 million for non-public school STEM programs, $3 million to expand eligibility for STEM college scholarships to students at non-public schools and $7.7 million for non-public school immunization compliance.

The protest, which took place outside the office of State Sen. Elaine Phillips (R-Flower Hill), is one of several planned at lawmakers’ local offices. Phillips is serving her first term as a representative of the 7th District, which covers northwestern Nassau County.

“They’re giving up on [public schools] instead of trying to save them and fund them in an equitable way,” Canestro said. “What they’re doing is just making more room for charter schools.”

An estimated 50.4 million students were enrolled in public schools in the U.S. in 2016, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“Eighty-five or 90 percent of American children are in public schools,” said Leslie Rose, a Rockville Centre parent. “Yet our State Senate here in New York wants to send large sums of money to these private schools. They’re really private schools, and I have nothing against private schools if you pay for it.”

Teachers and parents from the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District also attended the rally.

“Any time you’re talking about ... putting more money into charters and increasing the number of charters, that would inevitably take money for the charter schools and pull money from public education, so that’s not a good thing,” said Mark Steinberg, a teacher at Grand Avenue Middle School.

Steinberg also expressed concern about public education’s future. “I just want to make sure that when I leave the profession, when I decide to retire, [it’s] in excellent condition,” he said.

Protesters also aimed to encourage parents to opt out of state tests that started on Tuesday. According to Jeanette Deutermann, founder of the Long Island Opt Out movement, the tests enable the state to close underperforming schools and offer a charter school in the area.

“If you defund the schools and offer a charter, now you could suck money and funds away from those public schools and shift them into for-profit charters or private schools,” said Deutermann, who lives in Bellmore. “It’s just a way to completely dismantle the public schools.”

There are three charter schools in Nassau County: Academy Charter School and Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead, and Roosevelt Children’s Academy in Roosevelt.
A voted on the 2018 state budget is slated for April 1.