Charter school advocates lambaste UFT co-location suit

Here’s what charter school advocates had to say about the teachers union’s lawsuit that aims to block the city from planning space changes more than a year in advance. If the suit is successful, the Bloomberg administration would have its ability to site new charter schools curtailed.

James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, in an interview:

The next mayor who comes in will have the same power and latitudes and control of the system that mayoral control provides to this mayor. … I think the UFT stepping in and trying a court suit just shows that they’re not very confident, nor should they be, that the [new] mayor is going to roll back any of these things. … I’m glad about that and the parents of this city should be, too.

Jeremiah Kittredge, executive director of Families for Excellent Schools, in a statement:

We’ve seen the UFT go to court to keep families stuck on school waiting lists and prevent new schools from opening, and they’ve failed. The fact that there are more than 50,000 families waiting to exercise their choice and send their children to public charter schools show just how much demand their [sic] is for better educational options among public school parents. This lawsuit stands in the way of those families and their children. We applaud all new schools working to provide classrooms in great schools for their kids. 

Glen Weiner, interim executive director of StudentsFirstNY, in a statement:

With this lawsuit, the UFT is telling the tens of thousands of parents looking for a better option for their children that the doors of public school buildings are closed to them. We will do everything in our power to ensure that the judicial process is informed by the view of parents who do not want to see the clock rolled back on their kids.