New Daily Beast Column on Public Charter Schools and New York Politics

While most of the education policy world will be focused on the President's budget proposal today, that's not the day's only big education story. There's also a intra-Democratic Party fight roiling New York today, complete with dueling demonstrations at the statehouse in Albany. Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio moved to prevent several high-performing public charter schools from using public buildings. As the fight escalates today, I've written a column covering the situation—and whether it could spark a national political debate—for the Daily Beast.

Here's a sample:

But it’s a mistake to see last week’s public charter school fight as simply the latest twist in a personal grudge match. Nor is the faceoff as simple as a battle between public charters and teachers unions. The union in New York City—the United Federation of Teachers—actually runs its own public charter school in Brooklyn.

The rancor between de Blasio and Moskowitz has at least some roots in substantive education policy disagreements. During his campaign, de Blasio promised to roll back Bloomberg Administration policies on public charter schools. He began fulfilling that pledge one month into his term when his administration reallocated $210 million from a public charter school expansion fund. This—among other moves—has put him at odds with many New York Democrats, most notably Governor Andrew Cuomo (who responded Monday with a promise to provide state funding for the displaced schools).