Sep 18, 2008 8:26 pm US/Eastern
Charter School Approved Next To Strip Club?
SUNY Charter School Institute Spokesperson Refutes Earlier Reports That School Location Had Been Finalized
By CAROLYN COSTELLO, CBS 2 HD News
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Imagine students going to school right next to a place where strippers work. Parents in Nassau County were outraged Thursday after they heard that educators had approved a plan that would have put a charter school next to a gentleman's club.
Various wire and newspaper reports said Thursday that the State University of New York Charter School Institute had approved a plan to build a new school right next to "Taste of Honey" on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead.
On its Web site, the strip club promises, "The absolute best in topless entertainment."
The reaction from Hempstead School District officials and parents was immediate.
"Elementary kids in an environment of a topless bar is ridiculous, educationally unsound. It's unacceptable," Hempstead Public Schools Superintendant Dr. Joseph Laria said.
Laria wasn't alone.
"Why would you want to expose your children to that type of thing? You don't know what's in there, no," parent Garzine Jones said.
"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't want my son to go into school and come out. There are prostitutes and drug dealers there," added Floyd Anderson.
Thursday a spokeswoman for SUNY Charter Schools Institute told CBS 2 HD: "There is absolutely no way we would approve a facility next to a bar."
Moreover, spokesperson Cynthia Proctor e-mailed a statement to CBS 2 HD and wcbstv.com on Thursday night, saying the location of the new school had, in fact, not been approved.
"No facility has been approved for The Academy Charter School, nor has the final state approval of the charter been completed. Only the proposed academic program and the district of location, Hempstead, has been approved.
"SUNY charter school contracts give the Charter Schools Institute full authority to approve or deny a proposed location, to review lease agreements, etc.
"Investigation of a proposed charter school location begins immediately after the vote by the State University Trustees, which just happened this Tuesday.
"The initial facility proposed by the applicants clearly does not meet SUNY's commitment to the health, safety and welfare of students, and the school will not be approved to open until an appropriate facility is found."
But Hempstead's superintendant, who opposes charter schools altogether, said that's too little too late.
"I think this is an embarrassment for the whole concept of charter schools and I think the state better get its act together upon the process to improve education," Laria said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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