John King uses WSJ to threaten NYC on charter rent: are Amplify losses so great Rupert can't afford to pay fact-checkers anymore?
Today the Wall St. Journal carried one of the worst articles I have ever read, carrying baseless threats by the State Education Department that they are considering cutting school construction aid to NYC if the de Blasio charges charter schools rent.
It would be an outrageous abuse of power to penalize NYC for failing to submit to the Commissioner's personal privatization agenda. Remember that before being appointed to SED, King used to run a chain of charters called Uncommon charters, that benefit from free space in DOE buildings. The reporter failed to mention that fact.
Not only would cutting school construction aid be illegal-- as the state capital funding reimbursement formula is written into law -- but essentially the Commissioner would be punishing NYC for complying with state law.
Yet the reporter, Lisa Fleisher, misstated the law, by erroneously writing that "school districts "may" contract with charter schools "at