In Rent Plan for Charters, Mayor Faces a Hard Road
As a candidate for mayor, Bill de Blasioelectrified crowds of parents and education activists with a pledge to charge rent to charter schools, one of the starkest policy departures from his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg.
But two months into his administration, the mayor has yet to unveil a plan, and education experts said the idea might be difficult for him to put in place.
Mr. de Blasio will be forced to settle many prickly questions. He has said he wants to charge rent on a sliding scale, extracting the most money from schools with the greatest cash reserves. But it may be tough to gauge the wealth of charter organizations and apply a standard that would avoid legal challenges. And it is likely to touch off another battle with charter school leaders, who have turned to television advertisements, rallies and lawsuits in hopes of weakening the mayor.
Pedro Noguera, an education professor at New York University, said Mr. de Blasio needed to articulate an overarching philosophy on charter schools before rolling out his rent policy. “You can’t respond to these issues on an ad