(From The New York Post, October 27, 2009)
By BRENDAN SCOTT and YOAV GONEN
In a surprise move, Gov. Paterson said yesterday he doesn’t plan to push for changes to state laws that experts have warned could jeopardize New York’s chances of raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education aid.
Federal officials have highlighted two state laws in particular — one limiting the number of charter schools to 200 and another prohibiting the use of student test scores in determining whether a teacher deserves tenure — as potential barriers to the state’s bid for a share of the $4.3 billion competitive pot, known as Race to the Top.
While legislation was introduced last week to enhance New York’s standing by scrapping those laws, a spokeswoman for Paterson — who has supported charter schools in the past — said the governor would not be among its boosters.
“At this time, we believe New York state is eligible for Race to the Top funds and that legislative changes are currently not needed,” said the spokeswoman, Marissa Shorenstein.
Education advocates said the governor’s cold shoulder stands in stark contrast to the work in a host of states, such as Colorado, where the lieutenant governor was appointed Race to the Top czar to spearhead the state’s application process.
States such as Tennessee and Rhode Island have already revised laws that impeded the growth of charter schools.
“There’s a lot going on [elsewhere] — it’s surprising that New York continues to have its head in the sand,” said Joe Williams, director of Democrats for Education Reform.
Lawmakers questioned the governor’s hands-off approach, especially because his support could help smooth the legislation’s passage.
“The governor is wrong in assessing that as we stand we can properly be competitive with other states,” said Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx).
Asked why the governor would risk losing out on much-needed federal aid, Benjamin said:
“I think he’s running for re-election. He doesn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize his [New York State United Teachers] and [United Federation of Teachers] support — and changing the current state law to make the state far more open to the advancement of charter schools would anger NYSUT and UFT.”
Paterson recently riled both teachers unions with his proposal to reduce the state’s looming budget gap by cutting $686 million mid-year from schools.
While he wouldn’t address Paterson’s stance directly, Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) — one of the Legislature’s most prominent supporters of charter schools — said through a spokesman that he supports efforts to boost the state’s foothold in the competition for federal funds.
“Senator Smith does not think we should miss any opportunity to bring in additional education resources to the state,” said Smith spokesman Austin Shafran.
He said this would include raising the cap on charter schools if it translated to a bigger piece of the pie.
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo), who last week sponsored the legislation that takes steps to ensure the state is eligible for the funding, said he hoped Paterson would look at the bigger picture of education reform.
“It’s not just about barely reaching the minimum criteria. It’s about competing,” he said. “You have to be willing to change the status quo.”