A battle is brewing between parents and city officials in Peekskill this morning over a controversial proposal to open up a charter school next year.

A majority of the hundreds of people who came out for last night's hearing at the Peekskill Middle School are against the proposal to establish the Guardian Academy Charter School in the district. The plan is for the school to be located inside the Assumption Catholic School, which closed last year.

A charter school is a tuition-free public school overseen by a state educational agency. It receives public funding on a per-pupil basis. Local school districts often oppose charter schools because they view them as a drain on resources.

Many in Peekskill say they are worried Guardian Academy will take funding away from the district. "We just cannot afford to fund the proposed Guardian Academy. Siphoning money from the Peekskill school district will hurt the 3,000 plus students who will still be enrolled in our district," says opponent Tuesday McDonald.

Supporters claim money is not taken away, and say charter schools offer more choices because the curriculum tends to be different from public schools. "Once the state has determined that a charter school can be opened they have a formula that they calculate so as to protect the district, quite frankly, from a drain of funds," says charter school applicant Audrey Warren.

If approved by the state, the Guardian Academy is planning to open next August, with kindergarten and first grade. It would add a grade each year until eighth grade.