Charter Parents to New York Charter Parents Association: You Don’t Speak for Us!

“Parents for Smikle” working hard in support of Sen. Perkins’ opponent, Basil Smikle

CONTACT: Daniel Clark, Sr., parentpowernyc@gmail.com or 646-745-7203

While Mona Davids, the president and virtually the only member of the New York Charter Parents
Association (NYCPA), was endorsing Bill Perkins in the SD-30 State Senate Primary, literally hundreds of
other charter and traditional public school parents were campaigning in support of his opponent, Basil
Smikle.

Parents for Smikle, an organization of more than 300 parents who came together to support Smikle’s
campaign, has has registered hundreds of fellow parents to vote, knocked on over 2,500 doors, made
more than 70,000 phone calls, and continue to work hard to build vocal support for Smikle among
parents throughout the district.

Without a doubt, it’s working. “Our mission,” said charter parent Daniel Clark, Sr., “is to show the
people of Upper Manhattan that we have the power. That as parents, we will not stand idly by and allow
this man to continue his efforts deny us our right to choose a great schools for our children. He has
been rude to us, he has worked against our children, and we simply won’t stand for it any longer. We
know who we’re voting for.”

That endorsement means something, since Parents for Smikle is the only parent organization with any
muscle in the SD-30 primary fight. “Two of my children attend charter schools,” said Kenneth Knox,
“and I live in this district. I’ve never heard of the NYCPA in my life. Neither have the dozens of parents I
sit with at phone banks. As a charter parent, you’d have to be crazy to support Perkins.”

Parents for Smikle, which operates a field office in Central Harlem, welcomes the fight. “We stand
ready, willing, and able to showcase our campaign and make the convincing case that parents, for the
sake of every child in Upper Manhattan, stand with Basil,” said charter mom Kim Broomes, “everyone
can see we’re working like heck to get him into office.”

“This Senate Primary is our latest work,” said parent Amanda Payton, “but look even at today’s news
that New York won $700 million in Race to the Top funding by lifting the cap on charter schools. That’s
not an accident. We organized and worked hard, and showed Senator Perkins and special interest
groups that we could stand up to them. All of these efforts are shining examples of what parents can do
if they come together and stand up for their kids.”