Dive Brief:

• Seven of the biggest education organizations in New York, calling themselves the Educational Conference Board, are fighting a proposal that would give charter schools access to state building aid.
• The board says that charters already burden districts financially and granting them access to funds meant for district schools will only exacerbate public school funding issues.
• The plan, under consideration by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers, is the result of a disagreement between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio charter advocates, and it would benefit charters operating in private space.

Dive Insight:

The groups that make up the Educational Conference Board, which previously expressed support for the Common Core standards, represent teachers, parents, school boards, superintendents, and school budget officials. So far, details of the charter proposal regarding the amount of money made available for building or renovations, what conditions merit the availability of funds, and whether the proposal applies only to New York City haven't been specified. If it applies to the state as a whole, as many as 60 charters could potentially benefit from districts' facilities funds.

Potentially granting access to public funds to schools operated by private entities is a sticky issue, to say the least. Continuing to pull money from public schools to give to those not liable to taxpayers certainly isn't going to improve conditions or alleviate common complaints.