Safe and Strong Schools

The CHOICE is clear:
Public funds need to go back to Poughkeepsie City Schools.

  • Students Deserve Safe Schools With Qualified Teachers and Strong Learning Environments.
  • Public School Funding Should Support Our Poughkeepsie Public Schools’ Students NOT Little Water Prep Charter School.

We firmly believe that having charter schools, such as Little Water Prep, in historically underfunded, high-need districts like Poughkeepsie places an unjust systemic burden on the local population.

We must say no to Little Water Prep. This charter school has created unsafe spaces for students, siphoned millions of dollars of funding from our public schools and taken resources & opportunities away from our community.

Background of Little Water Preparatory Charter School

Little Water Preparatory Charter School (LWP) was granted a charter by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute in June 2021. LWP opened in August 2022 at 68 Dutchess Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY with 120 authorized seats for students in Kindergarten to 1st grade. The School’s first five-year charter runs through June 30th, 2027 and will expand to serve up to 360 students from KG – 5th grade beginning in the 2025-26 School year[JK2.1].

Failures Exposed - What went wrong at Little Water Prep?

1 out of 4

Background checks completed of samples provided

6 teachers listed on staff

Certification N/A

F

Academic performance rating

12+

Safety violations reported

Over $7M

Public funds taken away from public schools funding between 2023-2026

Probation

Charter could be revoked by state

Why This Matters - Opportunities for our Students Lost

$3 million dollars a year is siphoned away from Poughkeepsie City Schools

These are funds that had previously been allocated to go to a school system that is transparent, financially stable and has demonstrated a commitment to meeting the needs of ALL students.  Instead, these funds now go to a school that has fallen short on its responsibility to create a safe learning environment that provides quality education to its students.

Students with Special Needs

Families chose this school believing their children would get better opportunities — not inadequate services and protections.

Public Trust

Charter schools receive taxpayer funding to serve vulnerable communities. Accountability should not be negotiable.

Legal Obligation

State law requires background checks and safe environments. These should not be optional and definitely not ignored.

“Little Water Prep does NOT meet needs of at-risk students.” –SUNY Charter Institute

There is very little community support for LWP in Poughkeepsie

LWP claimed they “Have encountered very little opposition to our specific plans to open Little Water Prep” in their proposal submitted in response to the SUNY Chart School Institute RFP.

From the beginning, support for opening this school in Poughkeepsie was thin. In all of Dutchess County, LWP only collected 57 signatures of support from Dutchess County residents in Poughkeepsie City through their online support form. Of these 57, only 34 respondents reported having school-aged children. Further, LWP submitted only 8 letters of support from “individuals from community and/or educational organizations.” Calling them letters is generous—these letters were form letters, consisting largely of identical sentences. 5 of the 8 letters of support submitted with the LWP proposal came from individuals residing in the Poughkeepsie area.

Despite LWP’s claims of little opposition to the school, Superintendents from area school districts submitted letters to SUNY Chart School Institute expressing opposition, as did State Assembly member Jonathan G. Jacobson.

Finally, LWP has been under-enrolled since the school opened, supporting the assertion that there continues to be no significant public support for or need for the school.

  • Does LWP know who they are hiring?

    🚫 LWP has failed to fingerprint and background check their employees

    LWP has failed to fingerprint newly hired employees, in violation of New York state law and common sense. According to the District’s audited Annual Financial Report, the auditors found that “during our audit, we selected a sample of four new employees and noted that the School was unable to provide fingerprint clearance documentation for three of the employees” because “the school did not perform the required procedure before hiring the employees to ensure fingerprint clearance before the employees start date. ”

    In fact, when LWP initially opened for the 2022-23 school year, some teachers also were not cleared with a background check.

  • Is LWP providing the education Poughkeepsie children deserve?

    🚫 As of May 2026, only 9 of 18 listed teachers hold an active state teaching certificate.

    Principal, Executive Director, and Behavioral Interventionist also lack active licenses.

  • Is LWP financially stable?

    🚫The school only reported surpluses in 2023-2024 only due to start-up grant revenues.

    In 2025, without those grants, LWP ended the year with a $184K deficit. In 2026, the school is in middling financial condition at best, running a $-40K deficit as of April 2026.

  • Is LWP leadership committed to the school?

    🚫 In 4 years, school leadership has almost completely turned over.

    6 of 7 founding board members have left. Current administrators and most board members have been associated with LWP for less than 1 year. Founder Antoniette Kane resigned in February 2025 - days after SUNY issued a Corrective Action Plan and weeks before a poor evaluation.

  • Where should these public funds go instead?

    Back to Poughkeepsie Public Schools, where they can serve all students with certified teachers, stable leadership, proper safety protocols, and accountable governance.

Take Action

If Poughkeepsie Public Schools had an additional $3 million, how would you invest it to support students, educators and your school community? Share your ideas with us.

Take Action

Source: New York Charter Schools Association. Information provided for reference only.