Armed with two minutes and a microphone, community leaders, parents and teachers will testify on Friday about a controversial plan to open a charter middle school in Brooklyn.
Parents of P.S. 9, a popular elementary school that would share space with Brooklyn East Collegiate, a charter school that opened last year, are opposed to the plan. They say there’s simply not enough room for the two schools to peacefully co-exist.
City education officials approved the plan in February, but the state education commissioner overturned that decision in March. The plan didn’t fairly allocate gym and library space between the two schools, according to the ruling. The city Department of Education revised its plan, but can’t move forward without a public hearing first.
A live broadcast of the event, which begins at 6:00 p.m., can be viewed below. If past hearings are an indication, the public comment period promises to be a colorful variety of testimonies. Speakers have used raps, songs and poems to get their point across to education officials.
