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Anti-charter teachers’ union cashing in on donations to lefty politicians to kill Hochul plan: critics

The fundraising arm of the state’s teachers union lavished more than $400,000 on Democratic legislators championing its anti-charter school agenda — part of $8 million-plus it has poured into predominantly left-wing political coffers since 2017, records show.

More than 30 state legislators whose campaign funds are filled with deep-pocket donations from the New York State United Teachers’ political action committee have been on the front lines opposing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s bid to bring the Big Apple more charter schools since she announced the proposal earlier this month.

Among the top recipients of NYSUT’s PAC “Voice of Teachers for Education-Committee on Political Education” is Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), who collected $47,200 in campaign donations since 2017; Sen. John Mannion (D-Syracuse), who scored $40,600, and Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) who received $27,800.

The pols have been beating the drum against charter schools at rallies and public hearings and through a relentless flurry of press releases and social media posts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed increasing a cap to allow more charter schools to open in New York City. Getty Images

“New York City needs to focus resources and attention on our traditional public schools, not increase their burden by allowing a flood of new charters into the city,” raged Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) in a recent press release.

Albany insiders and political pundits said there’s little doubt NYSUT – which opposes charters because they don’t have to employ unionized teachers – is now cashing in on its longtime financial support of state Democratic legislators and their lefty causes.

“NYSUT isn’t even the 500-pound gorilla in the room,” said one insider. “They’re the two-ton Godzilla in Albany, and you mess with them at your own peril.”

“Politicians are usually in the business of giving constituents what they want,” the insider continued. “There’s thousands and thousands of families waiting out these charter lotteries, banking on their kids getting accepted … but this is one issue where Albany politicians actively go against the will of voters who voted them in based on the money they get from NYSUT” and other teachers unions.

Ken Girardin, a fellow with the taxpayer-watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy, said, “NYSUT views charter schools as an existential threat, so it isn’t surprising to see them call every chip, marker, and favor to try and stop them.”

There are 276 charter schools currently operating in New York City.

The Democratic governor’s record $227 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024, which begins April 1, would abolish the city’s regional cap and allow operators to seek approval for 85 new charters in the five boroughs.

Hochul’s plan would also unlock permits for 21 long-shuttered, “zombie” charter schools across the state, which could also be located in the city.

Changes in charter rules via the state budget must be approved by the Senate and Assembly, both controlled by Democrats.

Since 2017, Sen. John Mannion (D-Syracuse) received $40,600 in donations from VOTE-COPE, a political action committee for the state teachers union. Senator John W. Mannion

It’s unclear whether Hochul will prioritize a charter cap increase once horse trading begins during state budget talks – or if she has enough collateral to sway Democratic lawmakers on the issue. Complicating matters for her is Mayor Eric Adams, who sides with Hochul on most issues, but has complained the city can’t afford to fund more charter schools.

Since 2017, VOTE-COPE has raised more than $40.8 million through voluntary donations, collected from teachers’ paychecks and the pensions of retired teachers, according to records. The NYSUT PAC – which receives significant financial support from the city-based United Federation of Teachers and its parent union American Federation of Teachers – uses its money to fight charter-school expansion and other teachers’ union pet causes through funding like-minded political committees and campaigns, lobbying, and other activities.

Girardin said VOTE-COPE’s donation-collection system “serves no public interest,” but instead adds more unnecessary work for public school payroll offices while saving the NYSUT millions of dollars in yearly transaction fees.

About 15% of the cash was collected from state and city retirees, he added.

Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) received $27,800 from VOTE-COPE. Theodore Parisienne

Since 2017, the PAC’s payments to other Democratic Big Apple-based state legislators fighting charter school expansion include at least $27,300 to Sen. Gustavo Rivera of the Bronx; $26,800 to Cordell Cleare of Manhattan; $21,500 to John Liu of Queens, chair of the Senate Committee on NYC Education; $19,300 to Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Brooklyn socialist; $12,750 to Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens; $4,750 to Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn of Brooklyn; and $3,775 to Sen. Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn socialist.

Salazar and Bichotte-Hermelyn also received another $11,000 and $4,700 in donations, respectively, directly from the NYSUT.

Besides Mannion, other upstate legislators who oppose charter schools have also had their campaigns boosted by VOTE-COPE. They include Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse), who received $27,550, and Assemblyman Pat Burke (D-Buffalo), who pocketed $14,862.

Mannion also separately collected another $34,400 from the AFT, $12,800 from the NYSUT, and $12,000 from the UFT. The unions’ support of the former high school teacher in 2020 played a major role in Dems capturing a veto-proof supermajority in the Senate.

Since 2017, VOTE-COPE has also handed out at least $567,950 to the state Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee and $152,300 to the state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, including $25,000 on Jan. 13. It also funneled $3 million to sister PAC “Fighting For Our Future” in 2018 as part of the state teachers union’s effort to flip some Long Island and upstate Senate seats from Republican to Democrat.

“New York Democrats are bought and paid for by the teachers union, and now they’re returning the favor by fighting tooth and nail to stop the expansion of charter schools,” claimed Chapin Fay, a longtime Republican political consultant and former top operative of ex-Gov. George Pataki.

“Today, charter school students are more proficient [than public school students] in both math and [English Language Arts] and there are over 160,000 kids on waitlists. This is why the unions went to war over charter schools in the first place and why they are now deploying their politicians from their back pocket.”

Although a vast majority of the VOTE-COPE’s funds were doled out to Dems, it also backed the campaigns of two upstate Republican senators who oppose charter school expansion. Since 2017, VOTE-COPE donated $15,880 to James Tedisco of Saratoga County and $10,450 to Daniel Stec of Glens Falls, records show.

“It’s one thing to see progressives who are naturally ideologically with the teachers union singing the same tune,” said Girardin. “It is absolutely baffling to see conservative, anti-tax Republicans going to the mattresses to stop charter schools from opening 200 miles away from their districts.”

Stec didn’t return messages, but Tedisco insisted his Senate votes on education issues are based on “the holistic good” of his constituents, not donations.

“I don’t control those who donate to me, and no donation has any sway on how I vote!” he said in a statement.

The UFT has also helped pull strings in both state and city politics, donating $13.3 million to predominantly Democratic pols and lefty causes since 2017. This includes $400,000 to the state Democrats’ housekeeping committee and $109,600 each to the state Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee and state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.

Its city-based donations include $39,625 to the Brooklyn Democratic Committee, including $20,000 since 2020 when Bichotte-Hermelyn, the assemblywoman, was elected chairperson.

City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island) said state legislators need to accept that charter school expansion is necessary. J.C.RICE

Backing charter schools has positioned Hochul as a relative centrist compared to other lefty lawmakers, alongside her efforts to overhaul cash bail laws and she lost her bid to make Hector LaSalle the first Latino to lead New York’s court system.

Both the AFT and VOTE-COPE gave $69,700 to Hochul for her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, the maximum allowed, and the UFT gave $47,100.

However, the donations were made months before she proposed lifting the charter school cap.

During last year’s gubernatorial race, Hochul was accused of waffling on her support of charter schools by Republican nominee and eventual loser Lee Zeldin, who vowed to make expansion of the popular schools a priority if elected.

Hochul, Jackson, the NYSUT, and AFT didn’t return messages.

The UFT didn’t address questions about donations given to anti-charter school legislators. Rather, it issued a statement saying “New York should not lift the charter cap,” alleging charter schools “discriminate against students with special needs and push out students who don’t fit their business models.”

Both Hoylman-Sigal and Liu said they’ve “proudly” accepted donations and other support from teachers’ unions.

Mannion said he opposes charter schools based on his 30 years working as a public school biology teacher and seeing “the negative impact that charter schools have on the public education system.”

City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island) said some state legislators should get their priorities straight and finally concede charter school expansion is needed.

“We have [roughly] 1,000 underperforming [public] schools and a student population the size of a midsize city not showing up to school on a regular basis, but the state Legislature is putting the bullseye on charter schools and private schools,” said Borelli, a former state assemblyman. “It is so misguided and wrong that it is immoral.” 

Since 2017, the NYSUT’s political action committee VOTE-COPE has raised more than $40.8 million and poured $8 million-plus of it into predominantly New York Democratic campaigns and political committees. Here’s the legislators who oppose expansion of charter schools in NYC who’ve gotten the most campaign cash over this period from the PAC:
1. Sen. Brad Hoylman Sigal (D-Manhattan): $47,200

2. Sen. John Mannion (D-Syracuse): $40,600

3. Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan): $27,800

4: Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse): $27,550

5. Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx): $27,300

Source: New York State Board of Elections.