SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The growing number of charter schools in Syracuse are draining the school district's finances and hampering efforts to improve city schools.

Those are some of the reasons the district may ask the state to temporarily ban additional charter schools in Syracuse.

The city school board will consider a resolution at a meeting today asking the state Board of Regents and the State University of New York to impose a three-year moratorium on new charter schools in Syracuse. The public meeting is at 5:30 p.m. in the district's offices at 725 Harrison St.

Charter schools have reduced the district's " ... ability to increase learning opportunities for all students, encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods, create professional opportunities for district personnel, provide parents and students with expanded choices, and improve student learning and achievement," the resolution says.

The Buffalo school board asked for a similar moratorium last year, but the state rejected it. The Board of Regents and SUNY both said they are not authorized to impose moratoriums.

A charter school advocate said charter school expansion should be determined only by demand and school quality.

"All families deserve to choose a great school for their children, and they shouldn't have to move to the suburbs to find them," said Andrea Rogers Barry of the Northeast Charter Schools Network.

Charter schools are free, independent public schools funded by the district and state that operate under a contract known as a "charter." They are exempt from some of the regulations governing typical public schools. The state passed a law in 1998 allowing charter schools as a way to improve learning and offer parents and students more choices. Charter schools in New York are authorized by either the Board of Regents or SUNY.

Syracuse has four charter schools approved by the Board of Regents. The newest, OnTECH Charter High School, will focus on teaching newly arrived immigrants, at-risk students and older students agriculture, agribusiness and new sciences. It is scheduled to open this fall. The Syracuse Academy of Science operates two K-12 charter schools. Southside Academy, another charter school, is for elementary and middle school students.

Charter schools have enrolled about 1,718 city students, nearly 9 percent of public school students in the Syracuse district. That number is expected to exceed 10 percent after OnTECH opens.

The district is paying $24.3 million, nearly 6 percent of its budget, for charter school tuition during the current school year. It expects that amount to nearly double over the next four years. The resolution says the charter school expense is not offset by cost reductions associated with reduced student enrollment.

It also says the charter schools enroll smaller percentages of students with disabilities and students learning English than city schools. State data show 20 percent of the district's students have disabilities and 18 percent are English language learners. At the Syracuse Academy of Science, by comparison, 8 percent of students have disabilities and 4 percent are English language learners.

State data released last week show the Syracuse Academy of Science had a 95 percent graduation rate in 2017, significantly higher than the district rate of 64 percent.

That's part of the reason why there's "incredibly high" parent demand for options other than the Syracuse city schools, according to Barry.

She said the Syracuse Academy of Science has a waiting list of more than 1,000 children.

Ellen Eagen, a teacher, lawyer and founder of OnTECH, said charter schools are incubators of new ideas and approaches to education. OnTECH will serve students with disabilities and English language learners, dropouts and students at risk of dropping out, she said.

"OnTECH is excited about being an innovator in this landscape, thinking about high school in fresh ways and bringing these ideas to the children of Syracuse," she said.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245