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Albany Misses Deadline For $700 Million In Education Funding
By
Ben Muessig
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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Albany lawmakers missed the 4:30 deadline today to agree on a plan that would allow more charter schools in New York, hurting the state's chances to win up to $700 million in federal education funds, the Post reports. "It's dead in the state Assembly," said pro-charter Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx).
For the state to have a good chance at winning the grant money, lawmakers had to decide on a proposal that would raise the cap on charter schools, which currently limits their number at 200 statewide. Gov. Paterson proposed a plan that would allow 460, while the Legislature's Democratic leadership suggested a rival plan that would allow 400 and impose new restrictions on the charters that Mayor Bloomberg strongly opposed. Bloomberg went as far as calling the Legislature's plan — which would take away some of his power and oversight over charter schools — an "insult" to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, but he signed on at the last minute in order to have a chance at the federal dollars, according to the Daily News.
Without coming to an agreement on a way to increase the number of charter schools in New York, the state doesn't have a chance, according to Benjamin. "The state's application for funding will be insufficient. This will be viewed as a demerit," Benjamin said. "The losers are the high needs children of New York State."
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