In a recent New York Times article, Javier Hernandez writes about New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and his plan to convert four Catholic schools into public charter schools. The schools in question have seen a significant drop in enrollment and will be closed if they do not receive help from the city. This would force hundreds of kids into already overcrowded public schools.

Although it promotes a significant amount of controversy regarding separation of church and state, there is a legitimate argument to be made by Mayor Bloomberg. By chartering the schools, it allows students to receive a proper education without interfering with students already in public schools. If Mr. Bloomberg were to send these students to the public schools, overcrowding would significantly hinder the ability for all students to gain a proper education. Also, the schools would commit to covering up all crucifixes and other religious objects, but serious issues would arise based on the curriculum. How will the state and the schools be able to alter the curriculum enough to satisfy both Catholic and secular parents?

In order for this decision to become possible there must be a change to the laws of New York. Because the law states that no private school can be converted to a charter school, by allowing Catholic schools to convert would show blatant favoritism to the Catholic faith. Also, under the current system involving students enrolling in chartered schools, they must be selected through a lottery. In this plan, all students already enrolled in the Catholic school will be automatically accepted once the school is chartered. Once again this is clear sponsorship of the Catholic Church by the state of New York.

Even though the intentions of Mr. Bloomberg are admirable, and look to solve the problem of overcrowding of New York’s public schools, if his plan is to avoid considerable legal issues, there will need to be several amendments. Because the plan, as it stands now, will allow quite a few components of the previous curriculum in place, in which numerous ideals of the Catholic religion are taught to students, I find it extremely difficult to believe it will make it through the judicial system.