Schools

Education Department Approves Just 3 Out of 38 Charter Proposals

Jersey City, Trenton bids get go-ahead; Lesniak-backed school to help substance abusers rejected

By John Mooney (Courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

On the eve of the November election, the Christie administration has approved just three more application for charter schools in New Jersey, continuing its on-again, off-again relations with the charter movement.

The state Department of Education confirmed yesterday that it had approved three of 38 applications for new charters to open in 2014, two of them located in Trenton and the third in Jersey City. The approvals are only preliminary, with final charters not issued until next summer.

Find out what's happening in East Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The small number of new approvals continues a pattern for Gov. Chris Christie and state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, who started as big charter backers but scaled back their support in the last two years in the face of rising backlash in some communities.

“The department’s goal is to approve high-quality charter schools that provide families with additional choices in the education of their children,” Michael Yaple, the Education Department’s chief spokesman, said yesterday. “All parents should be given a choice to find the school that is the best fit for their child, and we believe these schools will offer that high-quality choice.”

Find out what's happening in East Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here