De Blasio confronts charter-boosting ‘Morning Joe’ hosts

Sally Goldenberg

Mayor Bill de Blasio took heat over his tough stance on charter schools during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, and countered that he's acting in defense of the many more students who go to traditional public schools.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski even brought up de Blasio's 16-year-old son Dante, who attends the prestigious Brooklyn Tech High School, in her criticism of de Blasio's recent decision to halt three charter schools from taking up residence in existing public schools through a controversial process known as co-location.

"Let me ask it this way mayor, with all due respect. Your son goes to--is it Brooklyn Tech? Has [a] $13 million endowment. It's a highly selective school. You're very excited I'm sure that he goes there. If you found out that he wasn't going there next year wouldn't you want to know what the plan was? Do you think you played this out in a way that might not have been effective?" she asked.

De Blasio said he will make clear that the three of 17 charter schools whose co-locations he recently stopped will be "accommodated" and reiterated that his "first obligation" is to traditional public-school students.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/03/8541654/de-blasio-confronts-charter-boosting-morning-joe-hosts