Dear NECSD students, families, faculty, staff, and greater community members,

I affirming my strong opposition to the proposal of a charter school in our community. I echo the sentiments shared by Ms. Onyx Peterson, our Deputy Superintendent and I am grateful to our community for sharing their thoughts on this proposal. This is a topic on which we can all agree. 

You do not need to take my word for it. I invite you to listen and learn from those who took their time to speak out about this important topic during our public hearing. (Video clips can also be found by scrolling below).

From our elected officials and leaders in our educational community, we have learned that the fiscal impact will negatively impact our community and could jeopardize the programs that we currently offer. 

We know that this effort has not worked in our community before. Despite the best efforts led by actual members of our community who had deep connections with our residents at that time, the previous charter school in Newburgh failed. The proposals between the previous charter school and today's proposal are almost identical. The comparison information is eye opening and speaks for itself. 

Our district offers robust opportunities to our students – all of which would be duplicated by this proposal. 

We already offer Career and Technical Education programs (CTE) that prepare our students for work immediately after graduation.

We already offer internship programs for students to learn valuable professional skills right here in our community, networking to develop opportunities for their future.

We already offer programs that specifically focus on under-credited and over-aged students. The charter school program will compete to take away funding to educate these same students. This year alone, we have seen success with 111 students from our evening school program walking across Academy Field. The program saw an attendance rate of 95% and an academic pass rate of 87%.

We know that our district is continuously working to improve; however, it will be very difficult to do so if this proposal is approved and removes an estimated $9.6 million in funding every year. Regardless of the actual financial impact, the district will have to budget for their projections, ultimately taking funding away from our teachers, reducing or eliminating programming, and our students. 

The final day to submit letters to the New York State Board of Regents is this Monday, September 22, 2025. A template and instructions are provided on our website dedicated to this topic. 

A Change.org petition has been set up as well to express your feedback. 

Charter School proposals are reviewed and approved by New York State. A district Superintendent and/or Board of Education cannot approve or deny this proposal, although our Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution opposing the proposal of this charter school. 

Please take a moment to understand the negative impact this will cause our entire community and share this information with your friends. We appreciate your involvement in helping to provide the best learning opportunities for every Goldback, every day. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jackielyn Manning Campbell
Superintendent of Schools

View recordings of both public hearings in full:
August 26, 2025
September 16, 2025 
NECSD Presentation regarding New Dawn Charter School III, September 16, 2025

New York State Senator James Skoufis, 42nd Senate District

"I think we can all agree that our responsibility as stakeholders and stewards of this district is to pursue all avenues that lead to more and better for our students and our families. New Dawn's proposal is not one of these avenues. The answer to wanting more and better for our students is not to siphon resources away from them. The answer is not to open our doors to an existing Charter School network whose own graduation rates are below 30% and where over 97% of students are chronically absent. And the answer is certainly not to establish a potentially exclusionary, quasi-private institution that feeds off local taxpayers and sidesteps hardworking union labor while turning students away."

Assemblyman Christopher Eachus, Assembly District 99

"Like everybody else, I have fiscal concerns. If we don't read and learn from our history, we are bound to repeat it. And the history of a charter school here in Newburgh is awful... For all of these reasons and because of my experience, I vehemently oppose the application for the New Dawn Charter High School III. Our community needs to invest in our public schools in Newburgh and strengthen, not weaken our services offered to the students."

Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, Assembly District 104

"This new charter school proposal is no solution.  It is merely an opportunistic attempt to funnel public funds from a school system that is working to overcome challenges.  This proposal would add another hurdle to the district by reducing its budget and increasing competition for qualified staff."

Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos, District 6

"Having this proposal for this charter school couldn't come at a worse time. And, it really and truly will just further burden and exacerbate the already concerns and seriousness around the cuts and the funding gaps that will come and will hit our communities... These are the realities that are coming to every district, which is why, beside all the reasons the speakers before me have already mentioned, I am adamantly opposed to this charter school proposal. And I urge the Board of Regents to reject this proposal that will cause harm and is extremely reductive to the students of this district."

Ms. Stacy Moran, President of Newburgh Teachers' Association (NTA)

"It is estimated that New Dawn will take $9.6M a year from the children of Newburgh. And that amount does not include the additional charges to the Newburgh district for bussing, Special Education services, textbooks, and software. In addition, charter schools like New Dawn are publicly funded, but privately run, by un-elected boards that are un-answerable to the community, so there will be no transparency. In addition, their annual budgets are not voted on annually, the way the NECSD budget is. This means New Dawn Charter High School will never be held accountable by the public for how they spend the public's tax dollars. New Dawn will cost the district a lot of money and provide nothing that we do not already have."

"New Dawn would take millions of dollars away from our public schools -- and offer nothing new. There is one difference between New Dawn and the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. As a charter school, they will be able to exclude or kick out any student they want. Our district educates every student - every Goldback, every day. Charter schools can leave out students with disabilities and students with higher needs, while leaving less funds in the public schools that are required to educate all the children in the community. There is also no proof that charters are more successful than public schools. Often charter schools fail to live up to their claims and as a result, many states are now closing them. Charter schools are forced into districts against their will. Anyone - anyone - can apply to open a charter school and get public money for it. They don't have to be educators. They don't have to be well meaning, honest, or even competent. School boards cannot reject their application, that responsibility is left to the state, so  am imploring the Board of Regents to reject New Dawn's Charter application because of the harm it will do to the children and community of Newburgh."

Additional teachers who spoke passionately in opposition of this proposal are listed in alphabetical order: Michelle Bowe, Anita Bowles Spencer-Smith, Kelly Caci, Laurie Colacchio, Jennifer Costabile, Krista Espinoza, Melissa Higgins, Zoe Mathews, Claudine Mazza, Joann Raminek, Jen Santana, and Matthew Scully

Newburgh Enlarged City School District, Board of Education

"Many of you know, in this particular room, we don't often have unanimous agreement. Yet, tonight, we have the board, political leaders, the administration, unions, residents, teachers, and staff members in unanimous agreement to oppose this charter school."

Ms. Sandra Wood, NFA Evening School House Principal

"Students have access to a wide range of supports. These include credit recovery, CTE courses with no pre-requisites, and high school equivalency programs for ESL, adult basic education, and GED. We also offer a flexible schedule, dual enrollment options, and independent study when available. Social emotional learning is part of that work...

This is what I'm proud of. For the 2024-2025 school year, I am proud to share that the attendance rate was 95% and the academic pass rate was 87%. These numbers reflect both the dedication of our scholars and the strong support system we have in place... The NFA Evening School helped 111 cross Academy Field in 2025... Your commitment truly makes a difference in the lives of our students." The presentation for Ms. Wood can be viewed in full by clicking this link. 

Cameron Ford and Stephanie Romano, Student Choice Coalition

"There is a threat to our sense of community. There is a threat to district funds. There is something trying to wedge itself into our community and that is the New Dawn Charter School III. Unfortunately, charter schools follow a pattern of inadequate teaching methods. And a pattern such as this has no place in our district." Cameron Ford

"As someone who is heavily involved in the arts department, if $9.6 million is being stripped away from our schools, where exactly would they start with the stripping of the money? It would most likely start in the performing arts program." Stephanie Romano

View recordings of both public hearings in full:
August 26, 2025
September 16, 2025 
NECSD Presentation regarding New Dawn Charter School III, September 16, 2025

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