NYC Socialist mayoral candidate Mamdami declares war on charter schools

(The Center Square) - Socialist Zohran Mamdani, D-New York, recently said that if elected mayor, he would fight against charter schools, leading parents to respond with outrage.

The NY state rep. said that he would declare war on charter schools if elected mayor of New York City, according to a survey.

“I oppose efforts by the state to mandate an expansion of charter school operations in New York City,” he said in a Staten Island Advance questionnaire prior to the June Democratic primary, which he won.

Charter schools, which are publicly funded and educate lower-income students, would not even be allowed to share the same space as city-owned buildings, according to Mamdani.

“I also oppose the co-locating of charter schools inside DOE (Department of Education) school buildings, but for those already co-located my administration would undertake a comprehensive review of charter school funding to address the unevenness of our system,” the survey said.

The mayoral candidate claims that charter schools sidetrack public resources, and benefit the wealthy at the expense of lower-income families, according to The Hill.

Parents and those in favor of charter schools are outraged, calling the assemblyman's views “very misinformed,” explaining that he would be removing education opportunities from black and Hispanic students in low-income areas that he claims to represent.

Mamdani must support charter schools if he really cares about kids of color, Reverend Raymond Rivera, founder of the Family Life Academy charter school located in the Bronx said.

“I don’t understand why Mamdani would be hostile to charter schools. I think he’s very misinformed,” said Arlene Rosado, a mother who has a child in 10th grade attending Nuasin Next Generation K-12 charter school in the Bronx.

“Charter schools are helping kids in the community. You should always have a choice. Taking that choice away is not cool,” Rosado told The New York Post.

There are 286 charter schools in New York City: 91 in Brooklyn, 101 in the Bronx, 53 in Manhattan, 33 in Queens and 8 in Staten Island, with over 150,000 students.

“As a member of the Assembly, Mr. Mamdani has made clear that he was not supportive of charter schools or even the families that chose them, but he has recently and repeatedly said he would be a mayor for all New Yorkers — and that, of course, has to include the nearly 150,000 charter school students and their families,” said NYC Charter School Center CEO James Merriman.