Charter School Spokesman: Opposition to PIACS is Only Focused on Money

Tensions over a proposed Mandarin-language charter school that would serve students from the South Brunswick, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro school districts is turning what should be a narrow debate over zoning into a public battle over the need for charter schools in suburban districts like South Brunswick.

Officials from the Princeton International Academy Charter School, a dual-language immersion school, accuse the school district of politicizing the debate and misleading the public, while school board members are claiming that schools like PIACS are unnecessary in high-performing districts.

A Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting on April 14 lasted about five hours and was attended by several hundred people, requiring police to enforce fire-code capacity levels. Throughout the meeting, the proceedings were stopped several times due to shouts of protest from angry residents in attendance.

"I think that exemplified the politicization of the whole debate about charter schools," said Parker Block, spokesman for PIACS.  "The (South Brunswick) school district is doing a bang up job spreading misinformation about charter schools by saying they're for underperforming districts, but that isn't the case.  The (New Jersey Education Association) supports quality charter schools because they're supposed to be vehicles of innovation and that's not limited to failing districts."

WHAT ROLE FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS?

This report is part of a joint project between NJSpotlight.com (an issues-oriented news site that focuses on policy, politics, and community) and Patch.com to provide both a statewide and local look at the politics of charter schools in many NJ communities, and the tensions that sometimes arise regarding their funding in the age of budget cutbacks.

Statewide: Charter Schools in Suburbia Under Debate
East Brunswick: Questioning charter school's right to exist
Gloucester: A home-schooler takes on the school board
Hoboken: Can the public schools compete, by getting better?
Livingston: How many Mandarin schools is too many?
Morristown, Morris Township & Morris Plains: Unity Charter may be a jewel, but it's one with costs 
Princeton: 
Red Bank: 
Teaneck: Innovation or duplication?

PIACS has a deadline of June 30 to obtain a certificate of occupancy for a Perrine Road building that was formerly a warehouse and office space for a sporting goods manufacturer. The property, which would be owned by 12 P & Associates, LLC, pending zoning board approval for the application, represents the second attempt by PIACS to win approval for a location.

PIACS was approved by the state Department of Education in January 2010 as a dual-language Mandarin-English immersion school that will originally serve students in kindergarten through second grade from the Princeton Regional, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional and South Brunswick school districts.  PIACS was originally planned to open at the St. Joseph's Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro last September, but due to a deficiency in its zoning application for a zoning use variance, hearings were delayed and the school was unable to open.

The South Brunswick zoning board will hear the application for the proposed location of PIACS for 12 Perrine Road again on June 2.

"We're cautiously optimistic but with the understanding that during those first two hearings there were a lot of distractions and a lot of time spent on our own testimony," Block said.  "There were a lot of questions put on the table during the first meeting.  We need to provide answers faster and more clearly.  So we'll make sure that happens on June 2."

When PIACS failed to open in September 2010, the school was granted a planning year extension by the state Department of Education.  If PIACS fails to open this year, the DOE could extend PIACS’ deadline for an occupancy permit until July 15. If no extension is granted, PIACS would have to reapply to the DOE for a new charter.

"Worse comes to worse we just would just simply reapply," Block said.  "All it would mean is another delay."

If PIACS opens in September, its charter would be good for four years before coming up for renewal by the DOE.  If it's renewed at that point, it would maintain the charter for another five years before needing to be renewed again.

PIACS has about 170 students enrolled--about 35 students from South Brunswick, 35 from Princeton and 100 from West Windsor-Plainsboro.  The state projected South Brunswick to lose about $800,000 for approximately 75 students to PIACS, but Block said the actual number will be about 35 students from South Brunswick, which translates into about $300,000 to $400,000.

"I think that if people were better informed, there would not be any opposition because no one challenges the merits of the program itself," Block said. "Administrators and school board members from each of the three districts have said they think the PIACS program is strong. The only problem is that it is a charter."

South Brunswick has seen its state aid cut over the last two years, like every disrict in the state, which has resulted in layoffs and a plan to charge parents for extracurricular activities. At the same time, the district is expecting to lose about $1.6 million for about 150 students from South Brunswick who the state projects will attend PIACS and the Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School in Trenton. Seven buses would be provided for PIACS by home school districts: three buses from West Windsor-Plainsboro, two from South Brunswick and two from Princeton.

South Brunswick officials question the need for schools like PIACS in high-performing districts.

"They detract from the districts where they draw students and they hurt us financially," said South Brunswick Board of Education President Matthew Speesler. "The money we lose goes back to the state with no-cost saving to us.  We're losing students, but we still have to provide the same number of support staff and bus drivers.  I have no problem with charter schools in Abbott districts, but in a district like ours there is no need."

President of the NJEA Barbara Keshishian wrote in a commentary on New Jersey Newsroom that charter schools "are not the panacea that some advocates claim."  

She said it does a disservice to both students and to successful schools of all types to treat charter schools as a solution to the challenges of public education just because they have the word "charter" in their name.  Keshishian wrote that Rutgers University researcher Bruce Baker found some charters do well, but overall she said charters are ranked among the lowest schools statewide and they perform far below successful suburban and middle-class public schools, and at levels comparable to schools in poor districts. 

Block agreed that charter schools do not always outperform public schools and that the quality of a charter school's programming needs to be considered.

"Just because it's a charter school doesn't mean it's going to outperform another public school," Block said.  "Just because PIACS will have students from South Brunswick, West Windsor and Princeton doesn't mean it's going to automatically outperform the other schools in those districts."

PIACS, however, will follow the rigorous International Baccalureate educational program. Block added that the state approved the PIACS application at the same time that it approved revisions to its Core Curriculum Standards. He said the heart of the new standards are 21st-century skills, which place global literacy and competitiveness as a focus.

"The DOE saw that the PIACS program could provide an innovative way to further achieve the goals set forth for 21st Century Skills," Block said.  "If successful, PIACS could become a learning tool."

Block said the high turnout of residents at the zoning hearing and their opposition to the school shows a lack of understanding by the public due to misinformation spread by the school districts and media.

"You have to look at the quality of the programming and the people delivering it and that's what separates the people at the meeting in support of PIACS and those in opposition," he said.  "The people who support it are focused on the educational programming being offered.  The people in opposition were only focused on the fact that this is a charter school. The fact that this is a program that the state Department of Education has identified as an innovative program that could be of value in public education has been lost in all this."

Block said the main focus of the three districts has been on preventing PIACS from opening and not on educational quality. 

"There's a lack of understanding that the school districts do have options," he said.  "The impact PIACS would have on these districts is minor.  They don't want to lose control because this is very much about money for them.  All parents care about is the educational programs."

Dr. Speesler said the high academic performance of South Brunswick students is a perfect illustration that the district values students over money.  

"I don't think this school is about innovation because they're nothing more than a glorified private school that taxpayers have to pay for," Speesler said. "They add nothing to the district at all.  It seems to me there's a double standard in the way we look at these schools because it's just wrong if we consider them a public school. There's nothing innovative about it, we can provide the same programs they do and probably do a better job."

In addition to the educational and financial concerns, district officials and opponents of the charter school question the suitability of 12 Perrine Road to serve as a public school. The 41,000-square-foot building is a former sporting goods warehouse now being used as a liquor distribution center. PIACS would occupy 13,780 square feet while a private school would occupy 2,115 square feet. The site, which requires several variances, would house 60 kindergarten students, 60 first-grade students and 50 second-grade students. 

"This location is the worst possible place for a school," Speesler said.  "It's located in an OR zone and one of the things prohibited is an elementary type school.  We looked at that site as a possible location for one of our own schools.  It's the wrong location for a school and the waivers they're asking for are absurd."

The initial floor plan for the school does not have a gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria or kitchen.  Gruber said the tenants' plan was for students to bring a brown-bag lunch to eat in their classrooms or to have food brought in by a health inspector-certified caterer.  PIACS representatives said the schools would share a main entrance and hallways, but future gym and playground times would be separate.  

"There's no reason in the world why the (zoning) board should grant any of these waivers," Speesler said.  "For the board to consider granting those waivers is beyond my comprehension."

There also are questions about the relationship between PIACS and the YingHua International School, a private school that was founded by PIACS lead founder Dr. Bonnie Liao.  The two schools would share the 12 Perrine Road facility and Dr. Liao sits on the board of trustees for YingHua and is the board chair for PIACS.  YingHua currently has about 20 students enrolled.  

Former PIACS board member Helena May is the owner of 12 P & Associates and resigned from the PIACS board in March with intentions of having 12 P purchase the Perrine Road facility, pending zoning board approval for PIACS.

During the zoning hearing, a South Brunswick resident expressed concern about how the facilities cost would be distinguished between the two schools. Andre Gruber, 12 P's attorney, said the building would be owned by 12 P and that the two schools would rent from 12 P. Costs would be allocated to the appropriate schools under the arrangement, he said.

"Each school takes care of its own needs in terms of general upkeep," Block said. "That's something that the landlord covers and then they charge rent to both the private school and charter school. These services are not really shared in any way. The private school pays for the space it occupies and the public school pays for the space it occupies.  There are plenty of other schools that share facilities."

When asked what kind of assurances PIACS could provide that public money would not be used to support the private school, Block said both schools' records would be available to the public.

"The public school is only paying for the space it occupies," Block said.  "Our records will show what it is that each school is paying for and that will all be publicly available.  They'll see that there is no mixing of accounts of any kind. The landlord, public school, and private school are three separate organizations that operate separately from each other.

"The public and private school are under no obligation to contract with this building and if there's anything the board of trustees feels is not acceptable then we're under no obligation to sign a lease."

Dr. Liao said that YingHua has been looking for a new location for the last two years.  Block said the process of seriously examining 12 Perrine Road as a proposed location for PIACS began late last year.  He said PIACS and YingHua are not a package deal for any of the five possible locations PIACS is considering.

"The charter school is looking for a location independently of the private school," he said.  "To my knowledge, the private school is also conducting its own search so I don't know what kind of alternative they have in mind.  The searches are independent of one another."

PIACS representatives said plans call for the school eventually to expand to about 290 students from the current enrollment of 170. Any future renovations or expansion to the site would have to come before the zoning board again. 

PIACS would have three classrooms subdivided by furniture into five classrooms, while the private school would have four classrooms.  Zoning board members said the floor plan displayed by 12 P was confusing and didn't adequately delineate which part of the property was PIACS and which part was YingHua.

Block said PIACS would not rule out 12 Perrine Road as a facility if approval isn't given by the June 30 deadline or if the application is rejected.  He said the school could take another shot at the location next year if approval isn't granted.

"We believe this is a great facility for the school," Block said.  

Click here to learn more about the various aspects of the PIACS program and the impact it has on the three affected school districts.

Click here to learn more about the issues surrounding PIACS and YingHua.

To learn how charters in your area are performing—or all schools, for that matter—click on NJ Spotlight's report card.