rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/stop-mccorristin-charter?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-stop-mccorristin-charter' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Our Revolution Trenton Mercer https://actionnetwork.org/groups/our-revolution-trenton-mercer https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/petitions/photos/000/515/322/normal/McCorristin_Charter_Petition_Graphic_(4.14.24).png We firmly believe every child deserves a quality education, and that a strong, robust public education system is the best way to ensure this. Unfortunately, a new charter school application in Hamilton has received phase 1 (tentative) approval, and may soon receive phase 2 (final) approval. This is an immediate and serious threat to our public education system! According to publicly available information, McCorristin Charter School will be located on the grounds of what is now Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy, and would likely enroll all current Trenton Catholic students in the new charter school. Approving this charter school would immediately divert $5 to $8 million in Hamilton Public School funding to McCorristin Charter School, with no local control or oversight over this spending. This would negatively impact the over 12,000 children attending Hamilton Public Schools, removing critical resources and funding needed to upgrade our aging and inadequate school facilities, and provide a high quality education to our students. Although the public has not been provided an estimate of the financial impact the new charter school would have on Trenton Public Schools, it is undoubtedly at least as large. New Jersey charter schools are completely exempt from local oversight and control. Charter schools are governed by private boards of directors that are not at all accountable to the people of Hamilton. That means that millions of dollars in Hamilton residents’ local property taxes would be diverted to fund this new charter school, WITHOUT the oversight or transparency that the Hamilton Board of Education and Superintendent provide to our local public schools.[1], [2] Research has consistently shown that charter schools educate a different population of students than local public schools, increasing school segregation by race, ethnicity, English language proficiency, class/income levels, and special needs [3], [4] A charter school that requires millions of Trenton and Hamilton taxpayer dollars to function, particularly one named after a Catholic Monsignor, is completely unnecessary and would undermine our public school system. Hamilton and Trenton taxpayers should not be forced to bail out Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy, especially at great harm to our local public schools. Our public schools are accessible to everyone, publicly governed, and publicly transparent in their operations. We also are one of the most diverse and integrated districts in the state. Forcibly removing $5 to $8 million dollars a year, each, from our Trenton and Hamilton public schools, will hurt our students, increase public school segregation, and decrease transparency. Please sign on to the petition below, to urge the Department of Education to reject the McCorristin Charter School proposal. Help ensure that our local public tax dollars fund our local public schools! Sources: [1] https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2015/11/15-11-23-op-ed-hold-charter-schools-to-same-standards-as-district-schools/ [2] https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2022/3/21/22989702/charter-school-segregation-new-jersey-studies-refuse-share-findings/ [3] Orfield, G. and Park, J. (2020). Choice and Segregation: Charter Schools and the Reshaping of Public Education. UCLA Civil Rights Project at the Institute for Social Equity and Justice. [4] Reardon, S. F., & Owens, A. T. (2019). Charter School Enrollment and Income Segregation: Evidence from California. Stanford Education Policy Lab Working Paper. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-mccorristin-charter