Ryan Hill, founder of TEAM Charter Schools in Newark, responds to yesterday’s student protest against Cami Anderson’s One Newark plan:

“There is a degree to which we agree with the overall sentiments of the students. Many of them have gotten the short end of the stick academically over the years,” said Hill, who founded TEAM Schools in 2002. “In a charter school like ours, about 85 percent of the funding we get from the state goes into the classroom. In a district school, it’s less than 50 percent, and that’s atrocious. The district has not served these kids as well as they should. But we just don’t think they’re right about us. We don’t get more money than public schools. It’s about how it’s used.  

“It’s not a coincidence that people are falsely making accusations against us profiteering during a mayoral election,” Hill added, noting the protest took place less than six weeks before the Newark mayoral election in May. “This is election season theatrics. Our kids and our families know exactly who we are. They know that we’re not profiting off of the schools, and neither is anybody else.”