More Info on Charter School Coming to Gowanus
Late last year there was word that Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, which is currently located in Sunset Park High School, would be building a new facility on Douglass Street between 3rd Avenue and Nevins, and that’s been confirmed by a lease agreement that was recently recorded in public records for the properties at 182 and…
Late last year there was word that Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, which is currently located in Sunset Park High School, would be building a new facility on Douglass Street between 3rd Avenue and Nevins, and that’s been confirmed by a lease agreement that was recently recorded in public records for the properties at 182 and 188 3rd Avenue and 267 Douglass Street. The school’s website, meanwhile, says that it’s in search of an interim location for next year. (Controversial plans to temporarily occupy space at P.S. 32 were recently withdrawn.) It seems to be the case that the warehouse on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Douglass is going to be torn down to make make way for the schohtol, since its owner just got a permit to demolish the building. As of Monday, though, there was no visible construction or demolition under way on the block.
Charter School Expanding to Gowanus [Brownstoner] GMAP
Thanks, LC.
From your link, i disagree:
“Where the two studies do agree is on the question of funding for charter schools that are housed in private space. Roughly a third of New York City’s 98 charter schools fall into this category, and both studies found that they receive significantly less funding per student than district schools and charter schools in district space. The most recent report states:
The reason we calculate a higher funding allocation for charters housed in public school buildings than charters in private space is the value of in-kind services they receive due to their location: charter schools co-located in public school buildings don’t have to budget for space costs and utilities, janitorial services, or school safety agents.â€
if you want a building paid for by the public, wait in line with the public schools while the system determines the priorities. if you don’t, pay for it yourselves. where’s the problem?
but i wanted to post this, which says that charter schools in district buildings receive *more money* per pupil in NYC. http://gothamschools.org/2011/02/15/most-city-charters-receive-more-funds-than-districts-study-finds/
difference per pupil for charters in their own spaces is about $2000. that’s a whole lot less than private school.
The problem is that in NY regular public schools get a facilities alotment, while charters do not. Therefore, charters are required to fund their facilities costs out of there per pupil educational allotment (x) while public schools get per pupil monies (x) + funds for facilities (y). In places like the District of Columbia, public and charters get the same exact funding for each child (both per pupil and facilities alotments). The result is that each child is worth whatever the given dollar amount is no matter whether the parents choose to educate them at a charter or a traditional public school.
Also, the concept that charters take money from traditional public schools is incorrect. School funding is based on the number of students that actually attend a particular school, not the number that potentially could attend. If a parent elected to transfer their child from one public school to another, the funding would move with that child. Charter schools change the allocation of funds, but not the total amount of money available for public education.
Charter schools have lotteries to get in kids don’t get in automatically…..
“when a charter elects to pay for its own space, that means that the charter has decided it doesn’t want to wait in line until the DOE finds or constructs exactly what the charter believes it needs. what’s the alternative? that any time a charter says it wants X, it gets X immediately and the taxpayers get the bill? individual traditional schools can’t do that, so why should we do that with charters?â€
An alternative could be requiring a charter to have a budget approved illustrating that dollars allocated for education are not being used to finance facilities. Perhaps the charter has to show it has a private partner already on board? I’m not sure, but I think it stinks to have dollars going to a shiny new building instead of educating the kids inside.
Heather – see Cgfan’s post above, this school picks kids on a lottery, so the fundraising skills of the locals aren’t necessarily in play.
heather, that doesn’t even make sense. if i think having a target on atlantic ave is good and useful, does that mean i’m being inconsistent if i don’t think we should demolish a block of bodegas and brownstones in clinton hill to put a target there?
i just wish people were logical.
my response ^^ was to jessibaby.
But, Jessi, if this is a charter school that the Park Slope and Carroll Gardens parents want, they will fundraise the additional funding, no problem.
Of course, if it is a charter school like the one PS 9 did not want, they will bewail and bemoan the lack of fairness in putting it in their neighborhood.
I just wish people were consistent.
even assuming that’s what’s happening, it doesn’t really bother me.
when a charter elects to pay for its own space, that means that the charter has decided it doesn’t want to wait in line until the DOE finds or constructs exactly what the charter believes it needs. what’s the alternative? that any time a charter says it wants X, it gets X immediately and the taxpayers get the bill? individual traditional schools can’t do that, so why should we do that with charters?