Competition for Public Charters Heats up in New York as Ceiling of Legislated Cap Nears

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/as-charter-slots-dwindle-competition-increases/

New York's cap on public charter schools will result in nearly 40 development teams competing for just 18 charters this winter. In 2007, the state legislature raised the cap on public charter schools throughout the state to 200. That law was not passed until after the state had reached its previous cap of 100. Currently, 164 charters have been issued; another 18 are expected to be approved in the next three months. "There’s a tendency to see the problem as one that isn’t created until the last charter is given," said James Merriman of the New York City Charter School Center. "That just pays insufficient and no attention in fact to how long it takes to plan a charter school. If you wait until the cap is done you are going to end up with no charters in the pipeline for a year or possibly two." John Xavier, co-founder of the Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science school, said: "What I realized from this whole process is it's really a rigorous, demanding process and charter schools aren't going to just pop up because you lift the cap."

Source: New York Times (free registration required)
Date: 11/23/2009
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