Can the Hempstead school district coexist with charter schools?

Will charter schools suffocate the Hempstead school district?

With the pending closure of the David Paterson Elementary School and Hempstead officials warning of far-reaching implications if the state doesn’t pony up millions in added aid, it’s fair to ask whether the district is facing an existential crisis. Its myriad problems are well documented: poor student performance, graduation rates below the state average, leadership turnover, and chronic student absenteeism. Estimated charter school tuition payments of $106 million for 3,700 students next year will exacerbate those issues, and create new ones.

And while Hempstead has made improvements — its graduation rate increased from 42% in 2017 to 82% in 2024 — many residents seek options other than the public school system. There are two charter school districts in Hempstead — Academy and Evergreen — and a third, Diamond, is approved to open in 2026.

Charter schools have long been flashpoints for debate — in the region at least since Wyandanch school district alum Geoffrey Canada introduced his successful and popular Promise Academy charter schools in Harlem in the 2000s. Hempstead’s charters have been similarly popular. District enrollment has dropped precipitously — by about 2,000 students — since the 2016-17 school year, state data shows. The new charters played a significant role in that decline. And education funding follows the student, even as the public school remains on the hook for the same overall level of staffing and building maintenance.

Now State Sen. Siela Bynoe, who represents Hempstead, has introduced a bill that would prohibit new charter schools from opening within a 5-mile radius of the Hempstead school district. The bill, which would also prevent the revision of any existing charter, would not affect Diamond’s opening. Bynoe said she simultaneously supports charter schools and public education. “We need to find a way to find those options while still maintaining the integrity of the public education,” Bynoe told the editorial board.

It’s clear there should be a cap on the number of charter schools operating in a community. The state has issued 425 charters as of the 2024-25 school year. The statewide cap is 460. Bynoe said the Hempstead district has a saturation rate of 36%, meaning a third of school-aged children in the district attend a charter school.

The impact on public school education caused by charter school saturation must be addressed. The state needs to enact a moratorium on new charter school approvals in the Hempstead, Uniondale and Roosevelt school districts to study their impact and determine how to best support the viability of three charter schools within Hempstead’s boundaries.

Public education for all is the backbone of the nation’s school system. But when that system fails, charters become an attractive option. Until the knot of socioeconomic issues that result in poor academic performance can be unraveled, charter and public schools must coexist so every student can have the benefits of a quality education.