Donald Trump’s election as president will provide a boost to charter schools, a top adviser told The Post.
“President-elect Trump is going to be the best thing that ever happened for school choice and the charter school movement,” said Rudy Giuliani, a vice chairman of Trump’s transition team said.
“We’ve spoken about it. Donald is going to create incentives for that promote and open more charter schools. It’s a priority,” said Giuliani, who promoted charter schools and providing private school options to low-income students when he was New York City mayor.
During the campaign, Trump proposed a $20 billion federal block grant for states to use to provide school choice to 11 million students living in poverty.
“As your President, I will be the nation’s biggest cheerleader for school choice. I want every single inner city child in America who is today trapped in a failing school to have the freedom – the civil right – to attend the school of their choice,’’ Trump vowed in September.
Trump’s plan would redirect money from the federal budget to create the $20 billion school choice block grant.
“Distribution of this grant will favor states that have private school choice, magnet schools and charter laws, encouraging them to participate,” Trump said during the campaign. “Each state will develop its own formula, but we want the dollars to follow the student.
“This $20 billion will instantly extend choice to millions more students.”
Trump will have a Republican-controlled Congress to push through the school choice plan.
Charter school advocates are giddy. Trump will clearly be much more supportive of charter schools than Hillary Clinton.
One of Clinton’s earliest backers was national teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten. Following the teacher union endorsements, Clinton was muted on her support of charters and even parroted union talking points that the alternative, mostly non-union schools serve fewer needier students than traditional public schools.
Trump won’t be beholden to the unions, charter advocates said.
“We think Trump will be great on charters. We have made tremendous progress bringing real school choice to families who can’t afford private schools or fancy neighborhoods. We think the new president will continue and accelerate that,” said Jessica Mokhiber, spokeswoman for the Northeast Charter Schools Network.
“Interestingly, it’s an issue where the new President and Governor Cuomo share common ground. Just this year, the Governor, the Republican Senate, and Democratic Assembly doubled the amount of money in the budget for charter funding. We’re very optimistic that this kind of bipartisan support will continue.”
Election day results were a mixed blessing. While Trump’s won pro-charter Republicans appeared to have retained control of the New York State Senate, voters in neighboring Massachusetts soundly rejected a ballot initiative to increase charter school.
Meanwhile Mayor de Blasio’s administration is resisting or slowing efforts to allow charter schools to open in public school buildings, advocates say.
Trump will have the bully pulpit. But federal funding accounts for only about 10 percent of New York’s education budget.