I look forward to continuing this progress and working to help improve public education for all children through the choice and opportunity presented by charter schools. Fifteen new public charter schools authorized by the University Trustees with nearly 4,000 students are operating this school year, with two more schools scheduled to open in 2001. Of those, three schools are starting their second year of operation. The Institute announced last week that it has received 37 applications for new public charter schools that wish to open next Fall. As evidence of the University s growing role and influence as a charter school authorizer, Bellafiore is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National Charter School Authorizers Association, a new association formed to advance quality charter schools nationally.
Charter schools are public schools that are publicly funded and independent of school districts.
In exchange for greater flexibility, they are held to a higher level of accountability and operate under five-year licenses granted by the State University of New York and the Board of Regents. Under the New York Charter Schools Act, proposed by Governor George E. Pataki and signed into law in 1998, the State University can authorize the creation of 50 new public charter schools. A 1982 graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, Bellafiore previously served as Governor Pataki s first Press Secretary and later as the Governor s Director of Special Projects, where his varied duties included education, economic and criminal justice policy.