Lawsuit filed to block DC Charter School

I wonder who is funding this lawsuit in Washington DC?

If I were a betting man, or rather if this were the subject of a reliable, bet, I would put my money on either the teacher's union or the school board itself, neither entity has been particularly supportive of charter schools, despite their popularity among the citizenry.

The Washington Times Editorial Board writes:

The fact of the matter is that the lawsuit filed by these Capitol Hill residents poses a potential threat to charter schools throughout the country. And what the residents are asking of Apple Tree outside of the lawsuit -- to seek an exemption from the zoning board -- would set a bad precedent.

In the District as elsewhere, parents and other advocates of school choice fought the long good fight to establish public charter schools as academic alternatives to large, violent and underachieving urban schools. In some states, parents are still battling the status quo. All Apple Tree wants to do is open a preschool for 50 or so children. The notion that doing that in a residential neighborhood would cause "irreparable" harm simply does not have sturdy legal legs. Neighborhoods and schools -- especially schools for preschoolers and grade schoolers -- have always been perfect partners. That's precisely why they are called neighborhood schools.

Here's what is a little funny about this suit. If the DC School Board had declined to build a public school in the neighborhood, you can bet they would have been sued for not building neighborhood school.