Karim Camara Says More Charter Support Unlikely in Budget Deal
JILL COLVIN
Assemblyman Karim Camara, who raised eyebrows earlier this month when he appeared with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos at a charter school rally in Albany, isn’t quite on the pro-charter bandwagon any more.
In an interview with the Observer, Mr. Camara, who serves as leader of the state legislature’s minority caucus, said his appearance at the rally should not be seen as an embrace of charter schools beyond what he’s expressed in the past–and that charter schools should not be expanded at the expense of traditional public schools.
“I’ve been very consistent from the very beginning in that I believe that charter schools can be a part of an overall comprehensive system of education, particularly when it comes to communities of color and poor communities,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do in our public education system, but I’ve also been very clear that since the overwhelming number of our students will be in [traditional] public schools, that’s our ultimate priority: to make sure that public schools have adequate funding, to make sure that we’re not doing anything at the expense of public schools. So that’s something I’m very clear about.”
http://politicker.com/2014/03/karim-camara-says-more-charter-support-unlikely-in-budget-deal/