NY Post Attacks De Blasio For "War On Charters"

Another day, another half-dozen attacks on Bill de Blasio from the NY Post.

The one I'm interested in today is here.

They are claiming by making charter schools pay rent and ending co-locations, de Blasio is waging war against the industry.

Making charter schools pay rent is not a "war on charters."

Let me repeat, making charter schools pay rent is not a "war on charters".

Many of these schools are well-healed and well-financed, with boards stocked with hedge fund managers and Wall Street investment bankers.

They can afford to pay rent.

Can you imagine the Post defending any other industry or entity from the outrage of  having to "pay rent"?

I cannot.

And yet here they are, carrying charter industry water for why charters must not be forced to pay rent to the city and anybody who wants to force them to do so is waging war against them.

The argument is absurd on the face of it.

Certainly de Blasio can and probably will work out some kind of deal so independent charters that do not have a lot of money will not pay the same kind of rent that, say, Eva Moskowitz or Democracy Prep or Harlem Village Academies will be forced to pay.

These big charters certainly have enough money to advertise and hire p.r. people and hold rallies at City Hall for what they claim will be 30,000 people.

If they can afford to spend money on that kind of stuff, they can afford to pay rent.

As for co-locations, many of these charter school operators have real estate industry types sitting on their boards.

They can handle finding space for their new charters on their own.

For too long now, Bloomberg and his chancellors have pitted charters and traditional public schools against each other in a Darwinian fight for space.

Space is at a premium and now that war must end.

Charters can find their own spaces, just as they do in the rest of the country.

Sorry, Posties, making charters pay rent for co-locations and halting future co-locations is not waging war on charters.

That is called making them pay their fair share and making them take responsibility for their own affairs.

Something you guys don't like when it means rich people or wealthy corporations or connected charters are being asked to do it.

Making charters pay rent or find their own spaces has not killed the industry in the rest of the country and it certainly won't kill it here