Mad-Cap Politics

State education officials insist their decision to nix 15 out of 15 applications for new charter schools had nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Maybe not — but it sure looks like it did. “We always look for quality, and these applications didn’t measure up,” says Education Department spokesman Dennis Tompkins. He notes that several rejectees have been invited to reapply, with advice to boost their applications. So some might yet get the OK.

But that will come only after lawmakers decide whether to lift the cap on the number of charters allowed in the state (now 460) before the legislative session ends June 17.

If officials had OK’d any of the applications, it would’ve brought the total number of charters closer to the cap — bolstering the case for raising it.

The teachers unions don’t want more charters. These innovative public schools make uniondominated ones look bad. So the labor bosses — and lawmakers out to please them — reject any bumpup in the cap.

“We don’t necessarily see a need to take any action,” says Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. “There’s still a few charters to go under the [current] cap.”

True, some 157 open charter slots remain statewide — but New York City has just 25 left. Why wait until they’re all used up? Having some slack in the cap can’t harm anyone.

For that matter, why have a cap at all? Its sole purpose is to force folks who want more good schools to open to periodically beg Albany to raise it.

Make no mistake: There’s plenty of grassroots demand for charters. Last year, the wait list in the city ran to 50,000 families; this year’s list is expected to be even longer.

State officials are right, of course, to demand “quality” applications. But even honest efforts look suspicious when lawmakers are busy with their chartercap games.

And playing noxious politics is a slap in the face of kids hoping to attend good schools.