What Changes Have Been Made To The Charter Cap?

Since the details of the "framework" that Cuomo, Heastie, and Flanagan agreed to for the end-of-the-session legislation have yet to be put into writing, no one's quite sure what the hell is in it.

It seems some details that were released a couple of days ago may still be up for negotiation - including the charter cap.

Here's the Buffalo News on that:

Sources say the property tax rebate program, as well as a deal to extend the state’s property tax cap program for an additional four years, were no longer subject to the kind of thorny negotiations still taking place over other issues at the Capitol.

But there was a furious round of last-minute negotiating Wednesday over the New York City rent-control laws and a program that provides tax incentives for downstate developers. Additionally, the sides were still discussing provisions relating to giving New York City several additional charter schools. The existing state cap on new charter schools would not be raised, but the charters of several shuttered schools upstate, including in Buffalo, would be transferred for use in New York City.

So how many new charters end up in NYC?

Still a little fuzzy, it seems.

Cuomo Will Be Happy To Screw De Blasio Over Despite The Help The Mayor Gave To Cuomo's Re-Election Campaign

After getting rolled by Governor Cuomo last spring over charter school co-locations and a tax increase on the wealthy to pay for universal pre-K, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made the decision to help Cuomo this election season with his re-election campaign in order to curry more favor with King Andrew.

First de Blasio helped engineer Cuomo's endorsement by the Working Families Party, then he began campaigning publicly for Cuomo, and finally he made a robocall for Cuomo's embattled running mate, the conservative Kathy Hochul, that Hochul's opponent, Tim Wu, said may have been the difference in the primary.

With all this help de Blasio has given Cuomo, Cuomo should want to help de Blasio out now too.

But Ken Lovett and Jeniifer Fermino of the NY Daily News report that if de Blasio thinks Cuomo's going to help him out in the future now that de Blasio has given Cuomo much needed help this election season, he's a fool:

A source with ties to Cuomo said the relationship between the mayor and governor has “fundamentally changed” as a result of the primary. “He’ll view the mayor much more as a reliable partner and friend,” said the insider.

...

The insider who is close to Cuomo told the Daily News that “the mayor can’t collect an IOU, but it’s the beginning of a real relationship” that will produce results for the city.

“For good or bad, the governor is not a person who views the world as 'I owe you one.' If someone came to him and said, ‘I was there for you and I took care of you — you owe me,’ you don’t get a good reaction,” the insider said.

A second source who has had dealings with de Blasio and Cuomo agrees.

“Andrew appreciates what Bill has done for him. But if he needed to f--k over the mayor tomorrow, he's going to do it. That’s just how he operates.”

Ah, yes - if Cuomo needs to "fuck over the mayor tomorrow, he's going to do it - that's just how he operates."

How's that for a "reliable partner and friend"?

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

The takeaway of this is, de Blasio is a fool, Cuomo is a scumbag and if anybody thinks Cuomo's going to help de Blasio get control of the rent board or hand him more money for pre-K or overturn the giveaway he gave to charters last spring when he forced the city to either find space for every charter or pay rent for them, they had better not hold their breaths waiting.

Cuomo does only what helps Cuomo.

Now I dunno if de Blasio really does think by helping Cuomo out, he's going to be able to call in some chits in the future or if he simply is trying to ride the winning team and expand his power base that way.

But either way, it's cynical politics and in the end, I don't think it's going to be terribly effective.

Eva Moskowitz Plans To Double Success Academies Network In Size In The Next Few Years

From the NY Times:

The network, the Success Academy, said that it was submitting applications to the state to open schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. The move comes just two months after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state lawmakers granted charter schools in New York City some of the most generous protections in the country, requiring that the city find space for them or help pay their rent.

The provision was passed after Mayor Bill de Blasio denied space to three Success Academy schools, a decision he later reversed, and said he would charge rent to Success and some other charter networks, a shift from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s policy of granting free space to charter schools in public school buildings.

...

Should the applications be approved, the network, run by a former city councilwoman, Eva Moskowitz, would grow to 46 schools, serving more than 15,000 students, making it larger than many school districts. A spokeswoman for the network, Kerri Lyon, said there was “considerable demand” from families in the districts where Success Academy wants to grow and in places with large racial and ethnic achievement gaps. She said that the new proposals did not include precise addresses, but included four new schools that would open in 2015 in Districts 2, 3, 9 and 27, and 10 in 2016 in Districts 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 28 and 30.

According to another NY Times article, Moskowitz has never been turned down by SUNY:

A charter school network’s plan to double in size over the next few years could reignite a war over classroom space in New York City, only this time with the ground rules already tilted against the mayor.

A new state law passed in April gives the city just two options to meet the demands of the Success Academy network: It can hand over free space in public or private buildings, or give the schools money to find their own space.

If the SUNY Charter Schools Institute approves her applications — it has never turned her down — the focus would shift to the city. The new law — Section 2853 of New York’s education law — gives the city the option to offer a charter school space within the school system, or other public or private space, at the city’s expense.

The only good news in all of this?

The more schools Eva pushes through, the closer they get to the charter cap:

Now there are 183 charters schools in the city, serving about 70,000 students, and another 27 are approved to open by 2015.

State law caps the number of charter schools in New York City at 256, which leaves only 46 more to be authorized, said James Merriman, chief executive of the New York City Charter School Center.

“We’ve seen in the past that when the number gets below 50, there is a definite rise in anxiety among would-be charter operators about when the state will run out of charters to give,” Mr. Merriman said. “As long as there is demand from parents, and as long as the charters that are being created are of high quality, I consider it a very healthy phenomenon.”

If Eva gets her 14 new schools from SUNY, that leaves 32 slots left for charters.

Now I'm sure Eva and her minions just tell the other charter entrepreneurs and operators that they shouldn't worry about getting close to the cap, they'll just get the cap raised in another year or so.

And that's probably true, especially with charter school lobbyist Andrew M. Cuomo as governor.

But at some point, the rest of the charter operators, many of whom already dislike Eva and her Success juggernaut, are going to see her as a bigger enemy than anything else and take aim at her.

Moskowitz is growing too big too fast with too much money and power in her hands for there not to be a backlash against her - some of which comes from her own charter "allies."

Charter Cap Bill Vote On Monday

Time to mobilize and make calls.

Mayor Moneybags and Governor Sexual Harassment Is Not A Crime are going to be very happy if this charter cap bill is passed in the State Senate.

Mobilization worked in Florida (even Gail Collins noticed) and it can work here.

Let these state senators know that lifting the charter cap without providing any outside accountability on charter operators is NOT acceptable.

Here is a list of all state senators. Find yours, make a call, and leave a message.

Here is where you can email.

Let's mobilize.

You can be sure the charter school operators and advocates are.

I've already left a message for Tom Duane's office and let him know teachers at my school are watching how he votes on this.

These state senators need to know that accountability is not just for teachers.

It's for politicians who vote against the interests of traditional public schools and teachers at those schools too.