Tuesday, July 17, 2012
NJ Department of Education rejects request from Princeton International Academy Charter School for a third extension year, while granting final approval to Thomas Edison Energy Charter School.
One charter school serving local students was approved to open in September, while another was denied an additional year to find a location. After being granted a planning year extension twice in the last two years, the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) may have reached the end of the road. On Monday, the New Jersey Department of Education denied a request from the charter school for a third planning year. PIACS was rejected, along with 10 other charter schools, "because they failed to demonstrate sufficient progress towards readiness," according to the DOE. Another 9 charter schools were approved by the DOE to open in September, including the Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School (TEESCS), which was granted a …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Save Our Schools NJ, the Education Law Center and Speak Up Highland Park held a panel discussion on charter reform Tuesday night.
More community input was the recurring theme at a Tuesday panel discussion in Highland Park about charter school reform. Held at the Bartle School, panelists discussed the problems in existing charter school laws set forth by the state and the legislative solutions that their organizations are trying to get off the ground. The panel was hosted by the Education Law Center, Save Our Schools NJ and Speak Up Highland Park. Panel moderator Stan Karp of the Education Law Center said charters are a "growing and contentious issue." South Brunswick was the center of the controversial application for the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS), a Mandarin Chinese school that was rejected by the township zoning board in March due to …
Friday, April 13, 2012
In highly watched case, Cerf sides with school districts battling boutique charter.
While promoting charter schools in public, the Christie administration has found itself at odds with them on the legal front, as it rebuffed one school’s legal challenge this week and started preparing for another. Acting education commissioner Chris Cerf this week released his opinion against a challenge from a Mandarin-language school that had sued three local districts for their ongoing efforts against the school opening. The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS), approved by the state two years ago, maintained that the districts -- Princeton Regional, South Brunswick, and West Windsor-Plainsboro -- had unlawfully used taxpayer funds to contest the school before zoning boards, as well as in lobbying and other efforts. …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli said the state Department of Education will listen to the concerns of the community before approving a new charter school, after he previously expressed support for a public vote.
Earlier this month, the New Jersey State Assembly passed a bill that would require a local referendum for any new charter school before it opens in a community. However, local proponents of the legislation are unhappy with the 16th District's Assembly representatives, who voted against the bill. Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Hillsborough) and Assemblywoman Donna Simon (R-Readington), who represent South Brunswick, Princeton and Hillsborough in District 16, both voted against bill A-1877, which passed the assembly by a vote of 46-27. Ciattarelli said that he believes local input is important before a charter school is approved by the New Jersey Department of Education, but it's up to local elected officials to make sure that input …
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) failed to gain enough votes for a use variance from the South Brunswick zoning board during a hearing that stretched into Friday morning.
The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) gained a majority of the votes from the South Brunswick zoning board early Friday morning, but fell one vote short of a use variance for 12 Perrine Road. The Zoning Board of Adjustments voted 4-3 in favor of the application filed by developer 12 P & Associates, LLC, which is owned by former PIACS Board of Trustee member Helena May. It's now highly unlikely the charter school will be able to open in September, which would require obtaining a certificate of occupancy for any location by June 30. Immediately following the hearing, PIACS spokesman Parker Block said the school has not yet considered filing an appeal or asking for a third extension year from the New Jersey Department of …
Zoning board votes 4-3 in favor of charter school, but use variance requires five votes for approval.
The South Brunswick Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to reject the application for the proposed site of the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) at 12 Perrine Road early Friday morning. The zoning board voted 4-3 in favor of the charter school, but use variances require five votes for approval. The hearing lasted until about 12:30 a.m. Friday with about a dozen residents from South Brunswick and Plainsboro speaking against the school, while two members of the public spoke in favor of PIACS. Board members who voted against PIACS stated that the detrimental impact from the proposed site outweighed the inherently beneficial use of the school. Concerns about the added cars and buses from the school on an intersection that …
Monday, March 19, 2012
The South Brunswick Zoning Board could vote on the charter school application during Thursday's hearing.
The ongoing saga of a charter school seeking to open in South Brunswick could reach a conclusion this week. After two applications and nearly two years of hearings before the South Brunswick Zoning Board of Adjustments, a vote on the proposed site of the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) at 12 Perrine Road could occur at Thursday evening's hearing. An estimated 170 students from the South Brunswick, Princeton, and West-Windsor-Plainsboro school districts would begin at PIACS in the first year of operation. Within four years, PIACS’ enrollment is expected to grow to 290 students in the K-5 school. Testimony is expected to continue from applicant 12 P and Associates, whose witnesses will return to answer questions about …
Friday, February 24, 2012
Vote on application for proposed charter school expected at next South Brunswick zoning board hearing in March.
After two applications and nearly two years of hearings before the South Brunswick Zoning Board, a vote on the proposed site of the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) is expected to occur at the next zoning hearing on March 22. Testimony continued last night before the zoning board, as a crowd of about 100 people sat quietly as PIACS witnesses presented testimony on traffic impact, floor layout and planning for the proposed site of the charter school at 12 Perrine Road. An estimated 170 students from the South Brunswick, Princeton, and West-Windsor-Plainsboro school districts would begin at PIACS in the first year of operation. Within four years, PIACS’ enrollment is expected to grow to 290 students in the K-5 school. …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Testimony on floor layout and planning for proposed charter school expected this evening.
Testimony for the Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) will continue Thursday (Feb. 23) evening before the South Brunswick Zoning Board of Adjustments. Testimony on a new application for PIACS began in December, after the private school that was previously proposed to share the location with the charter school found a new location in Kingston. December's hearing was the first before the zoning board since the unsuccessful lawsuit filed by PIACS against the South Brunswick, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro school districts. On Nov. 18 2011, the Office of Administrative Law ruled against PIACS in their lawsuit against the three school districts. The suit alleged the misuse of public funds and the use of governmental …
Saturday, January 28, 2012
It's time for NJ to catch up with the rest of the country and recognize charters as the natural ally to traditional school districts.
- OPINION
-
Saturday, January 28, 2012
By Laura Waters [Laura Waters has been president of the Lawrence Township School Board in Mercer County for six years. She also blogs about New Jersey education policy and politics at NJLeftBehind.com. A former instructor at SUNY Binghamton in a program that served educationally disadvantaged students from New York's inner cities, she holds a Ph.D. in early American literature from Binghamton.] Why do charter schools incite such passion in New Jersey? They’re a tiny piece of the educational pie: out of 2,500 schools in the state only 80 are charters (another eight were just approved by the DOE) and they currently serve less than 2 percent of NJ’s 1.38 million public school kids. Charters follow the same curricular standards as traditional …
Lawrence
6:39 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Agree with both commenters above. SB public education is highly-functioning already. We have no need for charter schools. I see a potential benefit of charters in failing school districts, but there needs to be strict oversight of how public money is utilized by a private firm. more ›