Fed-up parents sue city for letting charter programs use school space rent-free
Tuesday, July 26th 2011, 4:00 AM
Bryan Smith for News
Leonie Haimson, whose child attends PS 41, was one of a two-dozen angry parents who filed suit against the city demanding that charter programs pay for using space in schools.Nearly two dozen city parents sued the city Monday, demanding that charter schools pay $96 million to use space in public schools.
The Manhattan Supreme Court suit said the city should collect full rents instead of $1 a year per school it generally gets now.
"These are funds that our public schools desperately need and could be used to prevent devastating budget cuts, the loss of teachers and sharply increase class sizes next year," said Leonie Haimson, a parent and head of Class Size Matters.
The Independent Budget Office says charter schools in public school buildings got on average of $701 more in taxpayer money per student than public schools in 2008-09, the suit notes. It says state law requires
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2011/07/26/2011-07-26_parents_sue_to_nix_charter_rent_policy.html#ixzz1TDGA9hgy