LI Education Officials Encourage Parents to Choose Charters, Then Complain and Seek Punishment

Confronted with a $34 million budget deficit, the Hempstead school district leaders are pointing fingers at those dastardly charter schools and the audacious parents seeking a quality education for their children.

Truly, charters have drawn nearly half of the families from the district, creating a pressing need to reduce spending among traditional public schools.

The real outrage here is that the district is just now feeling the financial strain—revealing yet again how New York excessively funds its conventional public-school systems.

Let’s clarify something: When families leave traditional public schools for charters and take funding with them, it’s not their wrongdoing.

The fault lies with the schools—the administrators, education bureaucrats, and in many cases, teachers share the culpability.

Look at Hempstead: Over the past decade, its schools have been failing students miserably, evidenced by a dismal high school graduation rate of below 60%.

This is what propelled families to seek alternatives (4,000 out of approximately 10,000 district students now attend charters), and it clearly explains why Hempstead hosts the highest number of charters in the Empire State, outside of NYC.

If ineffective schools face shutdowns, that’s a positive outcome.

Yet, the state continues to support Hempstead’s failing institutions; the district anticipates nearly $250 million in state funding next year, an increase of $83 million compared to four years ago, along with a $60 million reserve fund.

And still, these individuals complain, “It’s not enoouuuuuugh!”

The initial legislative response to this issue reflects the same misguided priorities: State Sen. Siela Bynoe aims to prohibit new charters within five miles of the Hempstead, Roosevelt, and Uniondale school districts.

That’s correct: they seek to shield teachers and schools from the repercussions of failing the very students and families relying on them by limiting parents’ and children’s options.

The reality is, New York’s public schools don’t exist to provide teachers and staff with lucrative salaries, generous benefits, or secure pensions.

They exist to educate children, plain and simple.

If they fail in that mission, then they should cease to exist.

So too should the education bureaucrats and politicians who strive to protect special interests at the expense of children.