City Considering Plan To Outsource Management Of Schools

The city's Department of Education is considering a plan to outsource the management of dozens of schools to private education groups as early as next school year.

Under the plan, private groups such as the College Board, the Urban Assembly and Expeditionary Learning-Outward Bound would manage schools and be held responsible for student success and failure, according to an article posted late last night on the New York Times Web site.

As millions of dollars in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are set to sunset in June, the education department is investigating new alternatives.The private management proposal is still in the preliminary stages, according to the New York Times.

The city is already home to 58 charter schools, which are independently run but publicly financed. The new plan is likely to fan the flames of the charged school choice debate and draw the ire of critics who worry about turning over the operation of public schools to the private sector. It is also unclear if the education department would offer the contracts to for-profit institutions.