NYC Charter Schools Proponents Look To Get Charter Cap Raised Or Eliminated

They're having a rally this week, they're engaged in a TV ad campaign to push charters and critize public schools and it's all for this:

The announcement comes as Mr. de Blasio and Ms. Fariña are facing pressure from charter school advocates, who are planning a rally on Thursday to denounce failing schools and recently started running television advertisements describing a crisis in schools serving poor and minority students.

Charter advocates are hoping to get legislators in Albany to raise the cap on the number of charter schools in the city, and some charter schools are seeking space in city school buildings. Mr. de Blasio and Ms. Fariña have expressed reluctance to close struggling schools, as Mr. Bloomberg often did, which means that charter schools may face difficulty in getting space.

It's a zero sum game, with charter school proponents looking for more space and resources at the expense of public schools and public school students.

That they're spending millions of dollars on ads to push their message ("School system in crisis!") just as they spent millions on ads last spring over co-locations suggests they don't need the resources and can pay for their own space.

Alas, that would mean less money for ads to spew their propaganda, a key part of their plan to get the charter cap raised or eliminated.

The one thing I would note this time around - Cuomo, who helped Moskowitz in her battle with de Blasio over space, is weakened post-Moreland investigation.

He can beaten on this issue.

But that assumes de Blasio is willing to take him on over the charter issues.

Given how much help de Blasio gave to Cuomo this election season so far, helping him garner the Working Families Party ballot nod and making robocalls for his running mate, Kathy Hochul, that's not an assumption I'm willing to make at this time.

That also assumes the UFT is willing to fight him on the issue.

Given how much help the UFT has given Cuomo, from threatening the WFP with dissolution if they endorsed Zephyr Teachout to having AFT President Randi Weingarten make robocalls for Kathy Hochul, that is also not an assumption I'm willing to make.

In the end, with millions being spent on propaganda, with a rally going on that will get them free publicity in the press and with the UFT and de Blasio seemingly afraid to take them on, I suspect charter school advocates will get much of what they want in the upcoming charter cap fight.