Dear City School District of New Rochelle Community,

We, the undersigned, express our deep concerns regarding the proposal to establish a charter school in our beloved city and call out the potential harm a charter school would pose to our public school system and the values and principles on which it is built.

The City School District of New Rochelle has a clear vision and mission focused on providing a high-quality, inclusive, and collaborative education that prepares every child for success. It has a long and storied history in our community, educating generations of New Rochelleans. As members of this community, we believe in transparency, accountability, and equal access to education for all.

Charter schools, while operating independently, lack the transparency and accountability that public schools are bound to maintain. Our public schools are governed by elected school board members who are accountable to the public, but charter schools operate under private boards appointed by their sponsoring entities, excluding the community from involvement in decision-making.

In New Rochelle, our diversity is our strength. We are concerned about what a charter school’s impact would be on student enrollment and diversity. Charter schools often employ strategies to selectively admit students, manipulating enrollment processes, and creating barriers that can hinder diversity and equal access to education.

Moreover, charter schools siphon public funds away from public schools. The funds diverted to charter schools leave public schools with fixed costs but reduced resources, negatively affecting the education of students with greater needs. Charter schools have been known to exploit neurotypical and special education students due to the additional funding they receive. Charter schools often enroll students with milder special needs who receive full funding allocated for students with higher needs, leaving traditional public schools to serve the students with the greatest needs, but with substantially less funding.

Furthermore, the lack of oversight and transparency in charter school operations is concerning and has led to fraud, corruption, and mistreatment of students and staff. 

They are known to have high staff turnover, which decreases the quality of education. 

We, the undersigned, call upon the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute to heed our protests and take a stand in protecting the values and principles that make our public education system strong. We urge you to reject the proposed charter school that may compromise the equity, transparency, and community involvement that define our school district.

We stand together as One New Rochelle, committed to providing a fair and equitable educational experience for every student in our community. We implore you to say no to the privatization of our public education system, and to allow us to continue our proud tradition of nurturing the growth and education of our future leaders in New Rochelle.

We are Pro New Ro, and we stand united for the preservation and support of our public education system.