Today, Justice Feinman of NYS Supreme Court ruled against a group of charter opponents who had sought a preliminary injunction against the NYC Department of Education, requiring it to charge charter schools rent when they are co-located in public school buildings. Justice Feinman, in a well-reasoned and thoughtful opinion, declined to grant the preliminary injunction. In doing so, Justice Feinman noted that granting such a motion would inevitably cause some of those charter schools to close their doors, causing chaos for parents and students. Such an outcome is hardly theoretical. The simple fact remains that charter schools do not get facility funding and cannot pay the collective $100 million that charter opponents are seeking. Nor should they. Public space is public space and as charter students attend public charter schools, they should have access to that space.
With the motion for an injunction having been denied, we and the schools that are parties to the lawsuit will continue to fight the lawsuit with every means we have—and we are certain we will continue to prevail.
