New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani continues to make waves with his radical agenda. This time he’s targeting charter schools, producing some strong reactions from parents and residents.
In an exclusive report by The New York Post, the newspaper wrote that Mamdani “plans to declare war on charter schools if he’s elected mayor,” according to a survey he answered June before the Democratic primary.
The state assemblyman said he would “fight efforts to open more charters, which largely educate minority, working-class students, and even opposed the schools sharing space in city-owned buildings,” the article read.
“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.
Mother Arlene Rosado, who has a son in 10th grade at the “Nuasin Next Generation” K-12 charter school in the Bronx, said Mamdani doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“I don’t understand why Mamdani would be hostile to charter schools,” she said. “I think he’s very misinformed.”
Rosado reportedly moved her son there because he was being bullied in public school. His situation has since improved after he was given the option to leave.
“Charter schools are helping kids in the community,” Rosado added. “You should always have a choice. Taking that choice away is not cool.”
The socialist candidate claimed charter schools divert public resources and mainly serve the wealthy, while harming lower-income families, The Hill reported last month.
Mamdani also promised to conduct audits of charter schools that are within the city’s Department of Education buildings, claiming they get too much public money.
“I also oppose the co-locating of charter schools inside DOE 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,” his survey answer read.
He added, “Matching funds, overcharged rent, and Foundation Aid funding would be part of this audit as my administration determined how to manage the reality of co-located schools and legal entitlements.”
It’s obvious why he’s declaring war on charter schools: They hurt unions and the public school system.
Liberals have been attacking school choice for years. They want to take away the power of choice, control, and comfort from parents while boosting their own bottom line.
When you have options on where to send your child, public schools shrink. When this happens, there are far fewer ears to hear liberal teachers spout political propaganda.
There’s also less money for salaries, pensions, and personal pet projects.
NYC Charter School Center CEO James Merriman told The New York Post that Mamdani’s contempt for school choice has been obvious throughout his entire tenure in the state assembly.
“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,” he declared.
Teachers’ unions are nefarious — especially public sector groups. They’re basically an arm of the Democratic Party with a quid pro quo situation in place.
The unions encourage teachers to vote liberal, and in return, they’re given pay raises on the taxpayers’ dime. They can achieve “tenure,” which makes them almost impossible to fire, and get to push their own political points of view onto impressionable young minds.
No wonder Mamdani doesn’t want children leaving the public system. It’s a breeding ground for future radicals and voters.
If conservatives and other open-minded parents can play the long game while hitting back using the court system to keep school choice alive, it will hobble one of the biggest drivers of far-left policy in the history of their movement.
If school choice fails, however, and public institutions claw back their power, it will send the country flying off a cliff at 200 miles per hour.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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