By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Critics of Success Charter Network's bid to open a charter school on the Upper West Side will take their fight to Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Opponents will bus protesters to a hearing at Brooklyn Technical High School where the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on whether Upper West Success Academy can open this fall inside the Brandeis Educational Campus on West 84th Street.
Department of Education officials are bracing for a long night, with public comment that could stretch into the wee hours. The Panel for Educational Policy, made up of mayoral appointees, is expected to approve Upper West Success Academy's move to the Upper West Side.
Tuesday's vote is the final step in what has been a contentious approval process for the charter school, part of the Success Charter Network which was founded by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz.
The charter school's proposed move to the Upper West Side has sparked fierce opposition from parents and elected officials, who say Upper West Success Academy will drain resources from existing public schools in District 3, which stretches from West 59th Street to West 122nd Street.
Upper West Success Academy representatives say the new school will provide high-quality public school options in a district that's too crowded and has too many failing schools. Though the neighborhood is known for sought-after public schools such as P.S. 87, Upper West Success Academy representatives point to data that shows that 13 of District 3's 20 elementary schools scored a D or F for student performance last year.
Success Charter Network's first school, Harlem Success Academy I on West 118th Street, scored better than both P.S. 199 and the well-regarded P.S. 87 on last year's school progress reports.
But opponents of Upper West Success Academy have passionately defended the district's existing public schools at rallies and hearings. They say the district's existing public schools need investment and support from the Department of Education, not competition from Upper West Success Academy.
Opponents claim Success Charter Network has a poor track record of sharing space with existing public schools such as P.S. 241. After a Success Charter Network school opened there, P.S. 241 students were forced into a basement classroom next to a boiler room, a teacher said at an October rally against the charter school.
They worry the same problem could play out if Upper West Success Academy moves into the Brandeis Educational Campus building, home to five high schools. In particular, District 3 parents say the charter school could siphon resources away from the new Frank McCourt High School.
District 3 parents opposed to Upper West Success Academy's move into District 3 have collected more than 900 signatures on an online petition.
The Panel for Educational Policy meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Brooklyn Technical High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn.
