Bill Stirs Up Controversy About Charter School Expansion in New Jersey

A proposed bill to halt the expansion of charter schools in New Jersey has inspired a public backlash from Essex County parents and ignited a conversation about the role of the institutions in modern education.

If passed, A-4351 would prohibit charter schools – which receive public funding but operate independently from the local district’s board of education – from increasing their enrollment for a period of three years, beginning with the 2015-16 school year.

Out of 23 registered charter schools in Essex County, 20 are located in Newark, two are in East Orange and one is in Irvington.

But that doesn’t mean that residents of other towns in the area haven’t tried to get their own.

In 2011, the New Jersey Department of Education rejected proposed charter schools in Montclair, Livingston, Millburn, Maplewood and South Orange. [See related Patch article]

The bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27), acknowledged that the proposed legislation faces long odds, according to a report.

“The bill is designed to promote a conversation that will hopefully result in an overhaul of the existing 20 plus year old charter school law including funding, facilities, authorizing and local control issues,” Jasey wrote in an emailed statement to Patch.

PARENTS PROTEST

On Tuesday morning, over 100 parents gathered to protest in front of Jasey’s Maplewood office after getting wind of the proposed bill.

According to a release sent out by the protest’s organizers, parents and concerned citizens from across the state have sent 25,000 letters and emails to Assembly Education Committee members, - including Jasey - expressing their concerns over the moratorium bill.

“Our parents demand that Asw. Mila Jasey stop playing politics with our kids,” stated LaVar Young, Newark City director for NJ Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO).

“Enough is enough. The schools that [Assemblywoman] Jasey is targeting are working for thousands of Newark kids, sending black and Latino children from low-income and working class families to college at astounding rates. How dare she use politics to get in the way of our children’s future?”

Tish Johnson, the parent of a third grader at North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, said that her son may be kicked out of North Star after 4th grade, instead of staying through 12th grade if the proposed bill passes.

“This bill will have a very adverse impact on the quality of education my son receives and that I’m currently extremely happy with,” she said.

WHY THE BILL IS NEEDED

Jasey told Patch that contrary to what some people may believe, public and charter schools can co-exist.

“Let me be crystal clear - as a parent, a former school board member and now as an Assemblywoman, I support our public system of education,” Jasey emphasized in an emailed statement. “I also support charter schools as part of that public school system.”

“New Jersey’s charter school law must be rewritten,” she continued. “The original vision for the role of public charter schools has yet to be realized after 20 years of charter school operation in New Jersey. The legislative intent of the 1995 law that created public charter schools never was to replace public schools or establish a parallel education system. It has become clear to me that the purpose of charter schools - to share best practices and strategies - is not being actualized, and without that, charter schools are not functioning as part of the larger school community.”

Jasey, who serves as the co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, told Patch that the proposed bill wouldn’t affect charter schools who already applied to add higher grades as students aged.

“Allocations are beginning to create insolvency, unemployment and reduced services issues in districts with high numbers of charter schools,” she told Patch.

“School districts where charters are multiplying from “chains” cannot plan or budget effectively over time as there is no way to estimate the amount that will be sent to charters, thereby harming students in the district. As such, taxpayers in school districts have no ability to determine the direction of their taxpayer dollars.

“The moratorium measure is a temporary device designed to give all parents and communities more say in their schools. My overarching goal is to insure that all students receive a quality education, that local control is preserved and the case of cities like Newark and Paterson that it be returned where it belongs – to the parents and the communities where they live.”

Photo courtesy of Matthew Frankel

Photo captions: Around 100 parents and charter school supporters protest outside of NJ Assemblywoman Mila Jasey’s Maplewood office on Tuesday.