02/04/2026
***The Diamond Charter School v. The Hempstead School District. Will soon become a thing of the past 🤔? Will Hempstead Taxpayers be forced to offset the cost for yet another Charter School in Hempstead??? Why would the State University of New York (SUNY) approve another chartee School for Hempstead students to be ran in West Hempstead??? Taxpayers, Parents, students, please read the article for the L.I. Herald below.***
By: Madison Gusler and Luke Feeney
In 2024, Diamond Charter School requested to open a charter school in Hempstead. Despite strong opposition from Hempstead residents and members of the neighboring communities, the proposal was approved by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Diamond Charter School was permitted to open its doors in Sept. 2026.
As that date approaches, DCS has submitted a revision to their application requesting temporary approval to operate in West Hempstead for no more than two years while completing construction of its permanent location in Hempstead.
According to DCS’s website, they plan to open and operate at 12 Westminster Rd., in the former religious school building at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, in Sept. 2026. This is while their permanent location at 131 Fulton Ave., Hempstead, undergoes renovations.
Members of the public were invited to share their opinion on the proposal during two meetings on Jan. 20 at West Hempstead Secondary School and on Jan. 21 at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead. Both meetings were packed with residents, students, school staff as well as district and elected officials who shared their opposition.
“The Diamond School was given two years to get prepared, incubate, and open up in the Hempstead school district,” Hempstead Superintendent Gary Rush said, but after two years DCS isn’t prepared to serve Hempstead students and is coming into the West Hempstead school district instead. He formally stated his opposition to this proposal.
Numerous objections were raised to the application including: the financial costs of another charter school in the area, the impact it could have on the West Hempstead, Hempstead, and neighboring school districts, how another charter school could increase racial and economic disparities, as well as traffic concerns.
“I do not support this application,” West Hempstead Superintendent Daniel Rehman said. “My primary focus is and will always be the stability and success of the WHUFSD. Introducing an outside educational entity even temporarily, creates unnecessary logistical and fiscal complications that do not serve the interests of our resident students”
Hempstead is familiar with the impact of charter schools on its school district. There are currently three charter schools operating within the Hempstead school district, excluding DCS. According to Rush, HUFSD spends over $105 million to support the 3,100 students attending local charter schools.
“When students leave, our district’s funding follows them,” Rush said. “However the district’s fixed costs do not decrease. We remain responsible for transportation, special education services, related services, evaluation, compliance and full continuum of supports required for a high needs population. The cumulative effect of this model is destabilizing and directly impacts the educational program of the students who remain in Hempstead schools.”
State Sen. Siela Bynoe, who represents communities such as Hempstead, West Hempstead and Freeport described her district as “the epicenter of charter schools.” Bynoe highlighted the percentages of students attending charter schools within her Senate district; 40 percent of Hempstead students, 18 percent in Roosevelt and 13 percent in Uniondale.
“That’s actually kind of criminal if you ask me,” Bynoe said. “They are coming into the community and not only are they citing here; they’re actually creating more imbalance and disparity.”
DCS is a New-York based initiative from founder and Executive Director Mark Crusante. The school is initially expected to serve 162 students in kindergarten through first grade, adding students in elementary grades each year and eventually serving 486 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to its application and charter approval with SUNY.
Charter schools, like public schools, are publicly funded and tuition-free, but in New York State, funding comes from money allocated to local school districts, which in turn largely comes from local tax revenue. Instead of a school board, charter schools are governed by a board of trustees — which according to DCS’s website, none of their trustees are based on Long Island.
DCS’s mission states its dedication to a “research-driven, student-centered approach” for learning. They offer one hour more of instruction each day and at least five more days of school each year, personal learning devices, and a curriculum that focuses on real world application.
Terrence McLean, the External Affairs Director of DCS, was the only one who spoke in support of the application for DCS at both meetings. ““We believe every dollar that is involved should go towards the kids,” he said. “Every funding that comes into the building is about the kids.”
According to McLean, transparency is important to DCS throughout this process but many attendees felt this is difficult for charter schools to achieve.
Shawn Wightman, superintendent of the Roosevelt Union Free School District, shared his opposition to DCS’s proposal. He also demanded that in writing SUNY provide a complete mulit-year analysis of the fiscal impact of DCS on the surrounding communities, any equity or demographic citing analysis used in the decision, clear documentation of how SUNY evaluates cumulative impact and regional saturation when charter activity is concentrated in neighboring districts, and details on how the transition to a Hempstead facility will be governed and its impact on the community in the short term.
“This is not an abstract issue,” Wightman said. “It’s about transparency and accountability in major public education and public-financed decisions.”
Richard Brown, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Hempstead, explained that charter schools were first authorized in the district in 2009 “at a time when the district was not performing at the level our community deserved.”
In 2018, the State Education Department added Hempstead High to the Schools Under Registration Review (SURR), a statewide list of failing schools that required the most improvement. In June 2019, Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that approved monitors to help oversee the district, which ended in 2023 after significant academic improvement.
Over six years, Hempstead High’s graduation rate rose from 37% to 81% in 2020. In 2023 the district’s graduation rate was 85 percent, virtually tied with the statewide average.
“That narrative has changed,” Brown said, “The Hempstead School District has made significant academic progress over the years and we are proud of the transformation that has taken place.”
Despite the strong opposition to DCS in the nearby communities, Hempstead and West Hempstead school officials said it’s unlikely that the revision will be denied as the SUNY Charter Schools Institute had already granted approval for DCS to begin operations in the 2026-27 school year.
According to their website, the SUNY Trustees and the SUNY Charter Schools Committee anticipate to make a decision on this revised application as early as January 29, 2026. Any comments or questions for SUNY about this application can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Diamond Charter School Revision Application.”
Link to the HUFSD January 21, 2026, Public Hearing for public input regarding the Diamond Charter School operating in West Hempstead at Taxpayers expense: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11759550?video=1156945189
