New Jersey Commissioner of Education Hespe has announced the goal of expanding charter school enrollment to 50,000 students. What he does not say, or perhaps care about, is the detrimental impact that charter school expansion has on the public schools in our state.

Since 2010, the public schools in New Jersey have been shorted $6 billion dollars of funding, as required by the school funding law. Every charter student that leaves a district takes with them monetary resources that the district desperately needs in order to meet even the basic needs of the public school students.

Quietly, while the Commissioner does not approve many new charter schools, he continues to approve expansions of existing charter schools. The impact has been and continues to be devastating on sending districts across this state.

This is happening in Newark, Camden, Hoboken and Paterson. This is also happening in Red Bank, East Brunswick, Morris Township, Highland Park, Galloway, and Edison. In many districts huge budget deficits are created by the expansion of charter schools causing further cuts to services and staff.

No town or city is safe because many of these charter schools are allowed to draw from anywhere in the state. They have become de facto statewide charter schools in direct contradiction to the law and their charters. For example, Hatikvah Charter School, approved for East Brunswick, draws students from over 20 towns, and as far away as Livingston.

This is not an issue of supporting or opposing charter schools. This is a matter of fairness and accountability to the law. If the NJDOE wants to continue to expand charter schools it must first follow the law and fully fund the public schools. The New Jersey Department of Education cannot further expand charters at the direct damage to public schools.

We demand a complete stop to all charter schools expansions until our schools are fully funded and until the NJDOE is held accountable to the laws and regulations for charter schools in this state.