It would appear that the Success Academy Network is using some of its advertising budget to hire young people to get signatures for a petition in favor of its proposed charter in the Cobble Hill/ Boerum Hill neighborhood. 'Cobble Hill Success Academy' is to occupy space in the School for Global Studies and School for International Studies building at 293 - 284 Baltic Street. The co-location caused outcry amongst many parents in the community, who don't want more charter schools. Instead , they want resources to go towards strengthening and improving existing public schools in the area.
A reader just wrote to tell me about her encounter with a paid petitioner in Carroll Gardens over the week-end. She writes:
"There is a new sight to see as you stroll along Smith St or into Carroll Park. Yesterday and today there is a young man at the corner of Smith & President collecting signatires from residents to request that a SA charter school be brought to District 15. He admits that he is paid to do this (as you know, no public school in district 15 has funds to buy signatures). He knows that SA's charter is for D14 & D13. He states that these signatures will give SA the right to move into D15."
Another reader reported being approached by a man with a clipboard at the Bergen Street F train station late last week and on Friday afternoon, I was asked to "sign the petition for a new charter school" myself in front of Trader Joe's by the young man in the photos above. When I asked a few questions about the proposed charter, it became clear that he really did not know the first thing about it or about the controversy.
Of course, neighborhood parents against the charter have their own petition, but they don't have advertising dollars, like Moskowitz.
It strike me as just a bit disingenuous for the Success Academy to hire people to get signatures for them. How very businesslike...Perhaps if our own public schools had an advertisement budget, it wouldn't bother me as much.
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