Online Petition Garners More than 1,200 Signatures Opposing PIACS

An online petition opposing the Princeton International Academy Charter School collected 1,215 signatures in five days, but that does not surprise the spokesperson for the charter school.

Parker Block said the online petition, titled “Say No to Proposed Mandarin Charter School (PIACS)” is merely spreading the message he’s heard from the local school districts and those who oppose charter schools.

“That message is if this school or schools like it open we’re going to fire certain teachers or eliminate certain programs,” Block said. “They’re employing the politics of fear.”

In South Brunswick, school officials have said they do not oppose charter schools. But they do support charter school reform, including local approval for new charter schools. 

It’s unclear who started the online petition.

Its first online signature is from someone whose name is not identified. The second signature is from someone in Canada.

The petition asks people to sign the following statement:

“As residents of South Brunswick, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro school districts, we the undersigned ask that you take into account widespread community opposition and turn down any applications for an additional planning year or a new charter from the Princeton International Academy Charter School.”

PIACS was approved by the state Department of Education as a dual-language Mandarin-English immersion school to serve kindergarten, first and second-grade students from Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro and South Brunswick school districts.

School officials hoped to open in September 2010 at St. Joseph’s Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro, but problems with the school’s municipal zoning application caused the hearings to be delayed and the school could not open.

The state granted the school a one-year planning extension.

Now officials hope to open PIACS at 12 Perrine Road in South Brunswick, but developer 12 P & Associations, LLC’s hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment has been continued until July 7.

PIACS plans to share the Perrine Road location with the YingHua International School, a private school founded by PIACS lead founder Dr. Bonnie Liao.

Block has said the school will not open in South Brunswick this fall, but school officials are looking at potential temporary sites in Princeton and West Windsor. He declined to say exactly where the temporary locations might be located.

Residents have been vocal about their opposition to PIACS and they voiced those opinions on the online petition.

“I strongly believe that SB, Princeton and WW-P have excellent schools and channeling additional taxpayer funds into these schools will be more beneficial to kids of these towns,” read one comment posted on June 16 by someone who requested their name not be displayed. “We have seen a lot of good programs scrapped from SB schools due to shortage of funds and creating a new charter school is going to worsen the situation”

Someone identifying herself as Kelly Duane wrote that PIACS is “an indulgent, special interest idea that stands to benefit only a small number people and negatively impact a large number of people. Simply not necessary in our already high-performing school districts. I strongly oppose PIACS application.”

Block said PIACS, with an annual operating budget of $2 million, will hardly cause the kind of massive disruption predicted by three school districts whose annual operating budgets total $350 million.

Yet he said understands the public animosity.  

“When your school administration tells you this (that there will be layoffs and program cuts), it’s easy to believe, it’s understandable,” Block said.

PIACS has a deadline of June 30 to obtain a certificate of occupancy to open the school in September. 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.

Block said charter school officials have not applied for a one-year planning extension from the state, nor have they decided if they will do so or simply reapply to the state’s Department of Education at a later date.