Presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg may have backed off supporting stop-and-frisk, but he plans to double-down on another controversial policy from his time as New York Mayor — expanding charter schools.
Bloomberg will soon roll out an education plan that will include backing the privately managed schools as an option for families, his campaign office told The Post — drawing a contrast with other top-tier Democratic presidential rivals.
“Mike’s education plan will absolutely promote charter schools,” Bloomberg campaign spokesman Stu Loeser insisted.
“The record number of charter schools opened under Mayor Bloomberg is clear. That isn’t changing.”
“Few if any people in the country have opened more charter schools than Mike Bloomberg,” he continued.
Many Democrats oppose charters, saying they divert funds and weaken traditional public schools.
Former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t even mention them in the education plan on his website, while Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both vowed to eliminate $440 million in federal funding for the schools.
But Bloomberg’s 12 years as mayor saw the sector expand from just 18 schools with 4,442 students to 183 serving 71,422 kids, according to data from the New York City Charter School Center.
United Federation of Teachers President Mike Mulgrew insisted that Bloomberg’s educational policies were “damaging and counterproductive” during his three terms in office, just like stop-and-frisk policing had been.
But charters are popular with many parents, with a waiting list of more than 50,000 students to get into them in the Big Apple as parents seek alternatives to low-performing neighborhood public schools.
While results are mixed nationally, students in many city charter schools score higher on state math and English exams than surrounding neighborhood public schools and some are among the top performers in the state.
“Mike Bloomberg was probably the premier champion of charter schools in the country,” said Ian Rowe, CEO of Public Prep, a network of single-sex charter schools.
Rowe predicted it could prove a winning issue for Bloomberg’s campaign.
“None of the other candidates seem to be listening to the low-income families who want great, tuition-free public schools for their children, including charter schools,” he said.
Other Democratic presidential candidates who back charter schools include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who welcomed the alternative schools as mayor of Newark, N.J., and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who backed charters when he was Denver schools superintendent.
Before throwing his hat into the Democratic presidential primary, Bloomberg in November apologized for his administration’s reliance on stop-and-frisk policing, saying “I was wrong, and I am sorry.”