Khadijah Muhammad said she fears her daughter Azizah will not be able to matriculate at Amistad High School, if the state cuts charter school funds.
She spoke at a rally at the Dixwell Avenue high school Tuesday with students and staff from charter network Achievement First, claiming that the cuts would prevent them from accepting students already enrolled for the fall.
The Appropriations Committee has revised Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed state budget by eliminating funding for two new charter schools in Bridgeport and Stamford that were slated to open this fall.
The budget revision would leave Amistad High School more than $300,000 short in state funding, forcing it to turn away 33 students in August, claimed the school’s principal Chris Bostock. He called on State Sen. Martin Looney to support charter schools in New Haven and “make this right.”
Anti-charter activist Jonathan Pelto argued on his blog that the committee is actually planning to increase charter funding while decreasing funding to other public schools. He said that the elimination of funding for the two new charter schools was warranted given the $1.6 billion deficit next fiscal year.