Anger at £2m 'gay school'

NEW York City has announced plans to pour millions of dollars into the United States’ first publicly run high school exclusively for gay, lesbian and trans-gender students - despite sweeping cuts elsewhere in its education budget.

Plans to earmark 2 million for renovating what will become the school’s premises in Manhattan’s East Village, have come in for trenchant criticism from conservative groups and some parents.

Harvey Milk High School, named after the gay San Francisco politician who was murdered in 1978, has been operating for two decades in a tiny two-room office.

But from September, it will open as a public school with 100 students. It is expected to double in size by 2005.

Debra Smock, the school administrator, said: "I’m extremely excited. It’s been a long process. The fact is that more at-risk youth will have the opportunity to receive a valuable education in a safe and supportive environment."

However, the use of tax money to fund a school which will cater for a tiny minority of the city’s 1.1 million pupils has caused a surge of protest.

Mike Long, the chairman of the state Conservative Party, described the school as "social engineering" that wastes tax dollars.

"Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay maths? This is wrong. This makes absolutely no sense," Mr Long told the New York Post. "There’s no reason these children should be treated separately. What next? Maybe we should have schools for chubby kids who get picked on. Maybe all kids who wear glasses should have special schools. It’s ridiculous."

But New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, believes the institution is necessary in the light of recent "gay-bashing" incidents at city schools.

"It lets [gay and lesbian students] get an education without having to worry. It solves a discipline problem," he said.

William Salzman, a former Wall Street executive who is the head teacher for the new school, believes it could lead to similar institutions emerging across the world.

"The school will be a model for the country and possibly the world," he said in a recent interview at the facility, which will have a new science laboratory, additional classrooms and a new cafeteria.

The school will offer specialism in computer technology, arts and cookery, but Mr Salzman insisted it will stick most rigorously to mandatory English and maths education. "This is not a touchy-feely situation," he said. "We intend to have 95 per cent of our students go on to college. We want to steer these kids in the right direction."

But New York’s education system recently saw its budget cut by 544 million and many parents are unhappy at plans for the new school.

"It’s too much," said Patricia Kelly, 45, a mother of three. "They are reducing education for all the children in the city while handing out huge amounts of cash to what is really just a thousandth of the population."