Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Charter Schools on the Minds of Local Education Leaders on Their Annual Albany Trip

watchdog.org

Rochester-area school leaders had a chance to meet with senior staff in the state legislature this week.

Monroe County School Boards Association executive director Jody Siegle joined the group of superintendents and school board members on their annual trip to Albany.

She said one subject that came up was the increasing popularity of charter schools and the call by some to expand those schools around the state.                              

"We don't think that's the solution to dealing with the problems of children in schools all around New York State,” Siegle said. “Communities just aren't set up that they can have parallel school districts in every small town and small city."

Siegle said 85 percent of New York students attend traditional public schools and five percent go to charter schools.

She said the group of school leaders wants to remind lawmakers that they should consider where the majority of students are when they allocate education funding.

New York State has a limit on charter schools, which are privately operated but publicly funded.  The current cap is 460, with 285 schools already approved.  However, there are only 25 remaining slots for new charter schools in New York City, and some advocates want to see that number expand.  

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.