Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, released the following statement about last night’s election outcomes.
“Parents and families are voting with their feet in more ways than one. Last night, across the country, voters selected candidates who support public school choice. Whether in the New York City mayor’s race, the Virginia governor’s race, or school board races in several cities, the message is clear: Democrat or Republican, many of the winning candidates were willing to listen to their communities and put students and families first.
“The pandemic opened the nation’s eyes to the importance of getting education right for our kids, to the disparities in opportunity that persist, and to the need for more options, not fewer. During the last school year, nearly 240,000 students enrolled in charter schools, public schools of choice—while 1.4 million students left their district schools.
“Voters are looking for leadership in education no matter the political party. Families agree that our children deserve more and better and voted with their feet—and at the ballot box—to choose the education that best fits their needs. We especially congratulate the following leaders on their election victories:
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears crisscrossed Virginia during the campaign with a message of putting students and families first, dedicating funding to open 20 new public charter schools, and raising teacher pay. We look forward to creating a more welcoming environment for innovative, tuition-free, public charter schools in Virginia so more families can take advantage of education options.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams has expressed support for cultivating and sustaining many education options for New York City families. It is in this spirit that we look forward to working with the Mayor-elect to remove the cap on public charter schools and expand these much-needed options.
“Yesterday’s election is proof that education matters and supporting more choices for families is a winning policy. Candidates from both political parties won their elections with an education-first message. We believe that this trend will continue in the 2022 elections—where families are putting a high priority on education issues and voting accordingly—no matter the political party.”
