As superintendent of the City School District of Albany, and as an African-American, I am deeply disappointed by the insensitive handling of the issue of race in the recent Campus Notebook ("Attempted charter cuts leave some bad feelings," March 29).
In the article, Common Council President Carolyn McLaughlin is quoted as saying she believes an effort to reduce the school district's charter school bill would have an adverse effect on the city's minority population. Had the school district been given an opportunity to respond, we would have informed the Times Union that President McLaughlin's claim is completely without merit.
Albany's public schools educate a significant majority of our city's minority children — about 75 percent. We strive to raise the achievement of all students, and we do it without excluding students with disabilities or students who are English-language learners, unlike Albany's publicly funded, privately operated charter schools. The Times Union has reported on this serious deficiency in Albany's charter schools in the past.
The funding inequities that plague public education in New York's capital city and across the state are dangerously real, and discussions of race and the historical underfunding of public education in communities that serve a majority of children of color are worthy and appropriate. However, malicious, baseless accusations are not the answer. The City School District of Albany welcomes an open, honest, fair dialogue that will lead us to real solutions for all of our children and the betterment of our entire community.
Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard
superintendent, City School District of Albany