By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — State Sen. Bill Perkins, one of the city’s most outspoken critics of charter schools, will convene a daylong public hearing Thursday that will examine the schools’ 10-year history in New York City.
Perkins represents Harlem, where the number of charter schools has exploded. He is a bit of a lone wolf among the neighborhood’s elected leaders, and has provoked criticism from many of them for his stance on other issues. He has expressed interest in running for Rep. Charles Rangel’s seat in Congress.
He is holding the hearing as chairman of the Senate’s committee on corporations, authorities and commissions. The purpose “is to examine the business of charter schools by reviewing their development as a privatized solution to public education,” according to a notice on his Senate Web site. He is expected to focus on how the schools are funded.
Perkins said he will take testimony from parents, educations, lawmakers, elected officials, charter school operators and other advocates.
“The fundamental question is whether the charter industry is fulfilling our democratic vision of best practices, transparency & accountability, and most importantly — achieving the best educational outcomes for our children and revitalizing our public school system,” his notice said.
Perkins has spoken out against what he sees as an increasing amount of public money and classrooms being handed to charter schools at the expense of existing city schools. The city is in the process of closing 19 failing public schools, and in several cases charters schools are trying to fill the void.
Much of that activity is taking place in Harlem, where many parents support charter schools, and where the number of charter school students is rising. Perkins has joined protests in the neighborhood calling charters “separate and unequal.”
But Perkins has bridled at the characterizations of him as one of the leading voices against the schools. He has blamed “a massive well financed media campaign that seeks to transform a public educational system into an entrepreneurial investment portfolio.”
The hearing will be held in the Senate’s downtown hearing offices at 250 Broadway. It will be streamed live online.
