Battle Over LES Charter School Expansion Heats Up
The Department of Education may soon find itself in the center of a heated battle between a charter and public school on the Lower East Side. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
Schools on the Lower East Side say it is hard to be great when they don't have the space. Girls Prep Charter School is maxed out and needs more room for its growing middle school, but local public schools say they have none to share. Both groups held rallies this week and both blamed the Department of Education for the tension between them.
"We are only going by what the DOE said. If there is a problem, talk to the DOE," said Girls Prep Charter School parent Latrina Miley.
"When the DOE says we are underutilizing space, it is inaccurate. Their way of measuring is false, because they are talking about our science labs, our tech labs, and these are rooms that allow students to expand and to develop critical thinking," said PS 20 parent Monica Harris.
Charter schools are not guaranteed space in public school buildings, but the mayor and chancellor have put many of them in school buildings they say are underutilized. That's just what the DOE proposed for Girl's Prep, giving it more space by shifting other schools around among neighborhood buildings.