LIFO Math

Last Update: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 9:30am
 
I remember Joel Klein's first words in his attack on seniority: the schools in the poorest neighborhoods can't attract the same level of experienced teachers that schools in wealthier neighborhoods do. As a matter of fact that was a standard of the Ed deform early attacks on teacher seniority rules. Now of course this line has ceased and been replaced by "we need the young blood in the poorest schools."

Before I go on, I must remind you of something Leonie Haimson and Julie Cavanagh say at every presentation: teacher experience and class size are the only two in class factors that have been proven by research to impact on students in a positive way.

There was another article in the NY Times the other day about how some schools will lose piles of newer teachers who will be replaced by senior teachers forced to transfer to fill their vacant positions if LIFO rules are followed. We can expect these articles daily with sad interviews about how much these teachers love teaching and their kids. Expect the NY Post to devote entire editions to these stories.

So let's do some math on the pro LIFO vs. the whiny "we need to keep excellent teachers" argument. I'm going to use the 5-year benchmark based on the idea that 50% of all teachers leave after 5 years. I picked the 5-year number because the layoffs will probably not go that deep and pretty much anyone in this category will have a job (other than license areas like art and music that can be chopped completely).

So assume Bloomberg's extortion attempt works and there is no LIFO and they go after ATRs, the higher salaried, the U-rated and people who wear spotted ties. All the Teach for America people stay because they are, well, TFAs. Now we know that the attrition rates of TFAs are even higher than the normal rate of 50% over 5 years. Much higher. So even if these "excellent teachers" stay while 25 year horrible and ugly teachers go, the reality is that more than half won't stay past three years and over 5 years the number will be more like 70-80% who leave. No one seems to be crying over losing these "superb" teachers whether there are or are not layoffs.

So if we end LIFO we will still lose half of all the teachers spared in WalBloom fantasyland anyway. And many more who stay may well gravitate out of the classroom anyway. What kind of investment even in a business sense it that?

But if we still have LIFO and the layoffs (meaning Bloomberg's game of chicken didn't work) let's look at those over 5 year slugs that are ruining the lives of children and munching at the public teat. They are the 50% who did not leave after 5 years. And they are not among the people who were denied tenure (an increasing number over the last few years). So this group has undergone a double weeding out process. In the worst case scenario, many may have to move to schools where newer teachers were laid off (to be recalled under LIFO in an orderly fashion - and as we know with 1500-2000 teachers leaving every year through retirement or that 50% who leave anyway they are pretty much guaranteed to be recalled at worst within a year or two, negating the argument that they are lost to the system.)

So what's so bad about replacing a 3 year or under - even if a good teacher – with a 5 year or over teacher? In some cases there might be a loss in talent but if we just take the experience factor into account over the long run doing layoffs under LIFO is a win for the schools that lost people. The replacement group will not leave in anywhere the same numbers as the people they replaced. And they bring vastly more experience to the table than the people who were laid off. Plus by staying, they have already proven they are more likely to be career teachers.

Taken as a whole, which group should we invest in when considering building an effective and consistent, well-trained teaching force? We know WalBloom's answer. But why expect rationality from that source? Lucky for us they are not using their concept to staff nuclear reactors.
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AFTERBURN
 

 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/uft_vows_wisconsin_protest_over_13KLdJlXJIZvCcefLdSbGK

UFT vows 'Wisconsin' protest over teacher cuts

Political Maltent: WalBloom's Dilemma

Has Bloomberg put himself and his factotum Dennis into a corner by continuing to push for a loss of 6000 teachers while gilding all sorts of lilies - consultants, etc. - AND having a budget surplus?

Well at least I make out well in this fiasco:

The Bloomberg administration plans to announce that it will open 10 new senior centers, each serving 250 to 300 people.
 
It is pretty obvious to even the lamest observers that this is all about the politics of ending last in first out and Bloomberg is trying to browbeat the state legislature into giving him what he wants. Will the UFT refuse to panic and hold firm despite the foaming at the mouth of the NY Post, Wall Street Journal and other press sycophants?


What does WalBloom do if LIFO still exists and thousands of their newbies are forced out of the system? Can't you see the crying outrage from the E4E crowd about how the excellent teachers are being chopped? Could WalBloom actually chop the new TFA and Teaching Fellow class along with so many other people they hope to use as shock troops to undermine the union? As expected, one of E4E's funders had this to say:

Joe Williams, Education Reform Now: "No one wants to lay off teachers -- or any layoffs for that matter -- but it will be doubly cruel to our students if those layoffs remove some of the most effective teachers from the classroom because of an outdated and poorly considered law. For months, New Yorkers have called for Albany to take action on 'Last In, First Out,' and now time has run out. It's time for state leaders to act to end the practice of LIFO and help ensure the best teachers stay in the classroom during this difficult time. That's what reform means -- giving the taxpayers more for their money, in this case, the best teachers we have.  The ball is now in Albany's court."

Yes, that's the line. We don't want layoffs but the main fight is not against layoffs but against LIFO.

Can Bloomberg really ask Walcott to run a school system with 6000 less teachers?

Bloomberg's believability quotient is low, so many assume he is playing chicken. Let's say he gets LIFO killed. We know that these cuts will suddenly disappear. He doesn't care that we would say "told you so" because teachers would be screwed for eternity.

If he doesn't get LIFO done in, he has a problem. Imagine the chaos of the opening of school and the shifting of teachers all over the city? He will blame the union. But there would be massive shifting even if LIFO ended. So if LIFO still exists, what does he do? If he pulls the trigger on the layoffs, even he knows that any shred of legitimacy as an education mayor will be gone and probably mayoral control too.

There is still time for a deal to screw LIFO given this disturbing comment From NY Mag Daily Intel

Bloomberg insists he means it this time, that the money isn’t there, and that he isn’t laying off teachers to prove a point about LIFO. But if this isn’t the usual shell game, in which city tax revenues spike and Bloomberg saves thousands of jobs just before the July 1 deadline, he really is going to need an assist from Albany. There’s not much chance of the state suddenly coughing up more cash; a compromise on seniority rules or state mandates, though, should be possible. Two weeks ago the mayor and the governor had a long dinner on the Upper West Side. Perhaps today’s quieter tone at City Hall is the next step in trying to get Cuomo to pick up part of a much bigger check.

Here are the link:
Gotham: Bloomberg’s budget suggests cutting 1 of every 12 teachers; criticism is rampant. (AP, GS, NYT, DN)
And the outrage in the NY Times comments.
Leonie's update: The mayor's choice: a budget which puts children last
Urban Teacher's Nightmare: Bloomberg's New Budget Proposal along with his links: (See stories and commentary here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

GEM Statement on Cathleen Black, David Steiner, and the Appointment of Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott

Posted at the GEM blog.
(Last modified, Friday, April 8, 11PM)

It is Time to Break the Cycle

Since 2003, public school parents, children, educators, and community members have endured a dictatorial public education reform agenda that has ignored and marginalized their voices and has undermined and destabilized the schools they depend on, love, and serve. The departure of Cathleen Black highlights the incompetence, arrogance, and political nature of Bloomberg’s educational agenda; this is not about children first, but rather a blind belief in the corporate reform movement propelled by a centralized, top down system that has been destructive for our schools and our children.


It is time for a break in the power structure that has a strangle hold on our public education system; it is time for parents, children, educators and communities to have a say in the education of their 1.2 million school children.

The departure of four Deputy Chancellors in the last 100 days along with the admission by Mayor Bloomberg that the appointment of Black as Chancellor was a mistake, followed by the announced departure of the State Commissioner of Education on Thursday, makes it clear that the almost decade long mayoral control and corporate reform experiment that has ignored the voices of parents, teachers and community has been a failure for the entire educational community. The growing movements against school closings and the privatization of education have helped to expose these failures.

In the coming months our schools face severe cuts, testing is raging out of control, charter schools will attempt to expand by invading more schools, a campaign to close schools continues, dedicated educators are under attack, and our children’s education is at stake. Decisions about the lives of children, like the choice of leaders of the school system, should not be made without their parents, their communities and their teachers. We have little confidence that newly appointed Chancellor Dennis Walcott will be any more than the extension of the same policies with a different face. It is time for Mr. Bloomberg and the Department of Education to engage with parents, treat them as partners and provide the leadership and policies that truly do put children first.

The Grassroots Education Movement supports the Deny Waiver Coalition in their preference for a transparent and nationwide search process for a qualified Chancellor to run our school system. We believe that Mr. Bloomberg and our future Chancellor should fight for real reforms that will transform our public education system. They could begin with a moratorium on school closings, turnarounds, and charter co-locations. Reforms should include parent and teacher empowerment, more teaching, less testing, and the equitable funding needed to make sure our schools are responsive to, and the centers of, the communities they serve.

The Bloomberg ship is sinking. The last nine years under Mayor Bloomberg has been a sea of destructive and misguided educational policies. It is time for our children to be thrown a life raft. It is time for Bloomberg to be held accountable. It is time for a sea change.

______________
See Leonie Haimson on Walcott  posted on Norms Notes where she says:

unless Walcott (and the Mayor) change course, show that they are willing to follow the law, listen to parents and other stakeholders, and alter the policies that are damaging our kids, I do not  believe that the mayor’s abysmal approval ratings will increase substantially.  I hope that this appointment means a real shift in direction, rather than simply a PR move, but we will have to see.

AfterBurn
While I agree with the tone of both Leonie's and GEM's statement, I have a different slant and won't wait and see if it's not simply a PR move because no one changes teams in the middle of the game and Walcott is on the wrong side and will not change. I don't want Bloomberg to have a final say in choosing a Chancellor or if possible, any say at all. We need separation of politics and education. Mayoral control must end ASAP. Better no chancellor than one appointed by Bloomberg. Our old friends at the UFT, which took no stand opposing Black - as outrageous as the appointment itself from my point of view – support and will continue to support mayoral control forever - with just some tweaks added. We are fighting a 2-front war. Ed deformers on one side and the UFT/AFT at our backs. Really, a 3-front war - corporate, government and our own union. We need more air support than the Libyan rebels.

Oh, and good ridence to that Meryl Tisch suck-up David Steiner. The day he was appointed I attacked him and people chastised me for not giving him a chance. They don't get that the person doing the appointing is the key, not the appointee themselves. No one appoints someone who will change the direction they want to go in. Tisch is Bloomberg's next door neighbor and had Joel Klein ask the 4 Questions at her Passover sedars. Guess which side she is on?

Ravitch debates Canada on NY1 - Oh, what a bullshitter he is.

Andy Wolfe nails them in a piece at the Daily News.
"Bloomberg seems to believe that those who toil at the hard business of educating children are the problem. He is wrong."

____________
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

It is Not Only Bloomberg's Secret Agenda

This article (Bloomberg's Secret Education Agenda) by Marc Epstein has a lot of meat in it. But it is misleading in focusing attention on Bloomberg and not on the national ed deform attack. Before there was a Bloomberg and Klein, there was Mayor Daly and Paul Vallas in Chicago since 1995. Ed Notes began trumpeting the dangers as early as 2001 starting on the day that Randi Weingarten endorsed the concept of mayoral control. She accused me, with much outrage, of calling her a sellout. Hmmm. I also tried to steer the conversation from just focusing on what Klein was doing and onto the full agenda.

Of course, the UFT wanted to focus only on Klein (even often making Bloomberg out to be a good guy who you could deal with. Now, knowing full well the leadership knew what I did about the "agenda" and signed on to whole parts of it, I had to come to the conclusion they were purposely mis-educating the membership as to what is really going on. From there it was easy to jump to "They are collaborators."

"Politicians and Education Carpetbaggers have come to realize that you can fund charter schools like group homes and eliminate your public education payroll, pension, and benefit packages. Their attitude towards public education is "why do it for free when you can make money at it?"

I suspect that the powers that be really don't think they can turn things around and educate kids from horrific social circumstances by firing teachers endlessly. But if they succeed in decoupling public education from government, they'll live quite comfortably ever after. 

The handwriting is on the wall. When the small school initiative fails, Bloomberg or his successor will have an easier job of washing their hands of the system and suggest that not for profit charters take the headache of their hands.

The shell game can't last."

---Excerpt from Jamaica HS teacher Marc Epstein's, Bloomberg's Secret Education Agenda at the Huffington Post.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

A Tale of Two Michaels: UFT and Mayor Bloomberg - Who is more undemocratic?

We are waging a two front battle against major powers - the millions of our own union leadership and the billionaire mayor.   

NYC Teacher Seung Ok on NYCEDNEWS listserve:

The NY Post, no friend to the teacher's union, has the following to say about the public relationship between the Mayor and the UFT president, Michael Mulgrew:

"Even though they're often in adversarial positions, Mulgrew has a good relationship with the mayor and the two men rarely clash in public."

"Loeser said the only time Bloomberg spoke to Mulgrew about Black was right before the appointment, when the mayor pointed out that Mulgrew had met her once before.

Mulgrew declined comment.

"Michael Mulgrew and Mayor Bloomberg have private conversations. We do not comment on what might or might not have been said in private conversations that might or might not have happened," a UFT spokesman said."

So the biggest enemy known to public education in New York, and to veteran teachers advocating for what's best for their students has a friend in Michael Mulgrew. No wonder teachers are losing the battle for public opinion. We are waging a two front battle against major powers - the millions of our own union leadership and the billionaire mayor.

On closer inspection the two Michaels seem to have more in common than not. Both run their organizations with the guise of democratic proceedings. It was not democratic for Bloomberg to bribe and coerce his way into a third term.

For those who are unfamiliar with UFT proceedings, let me say that watching it live as a delegate - I imagined this is how so-called democracy is run in countries such as Afghanistan, Russia, and Nigeria.

The UFT has about 3000 delegates, 2200 of whom, can not fit into the small meeting space at 52 Broadway. This is done so that any vote taking place is always dominated by union personnel and Unity party loyalists. They meet for two hours each month and the majority of the time, Mulgrew uses up in the President's speech - which is as long winded as a Sunday sermon. Apparently Mulgrew saves his vehemence against the mayor in these closed meetings.

After that, comes the ceremonial guest speakers, awards, and placards of appreciation to some organization or people (usually a tug-at-the-heart cause that not even the political opposition can help but clap for). In the one year I was attending meetings, these ceremonies included: UFT sending 1000 dollars to the Honduran Teachers Union, the factory strikers at Stella Dora, the NAACP anniversary, a teacher who finally won a grievance for a medical transfer, etc.

Then, finally, when about 20 minutes are left - the floor opens up to the motions that have been already set forth by the Executive Board (sort of like the Senate of the UFT). Good luck trying to get a motion brought forth from the rank and file - because in order for it to be put into next month's New Motions list, it has to be voted on by a majority of those 800 (mostly Unity brethren) sitting at that assembly.

And good luck ever getting to the microphone, because there microphones set up in the aisles. Specifically breaking UFT union and Rules of Order procedure, Michael Mulgrew hand picks who gets to receive roving microphones handed out by, you guessed it, Unity union workers. And they have the ability to shut off any one of those microphones whenever Mulgrew deems it necessary. In most other unions, microphones are set up in each aisle, and the president must address the first member that asks for the floor.

Even if, after all these roadblocks, a member manages to get in a motion to be heard and voted on at that meeting (requiring 2/3 vote), there are further undemocratic hurdles to overcome. Let me give a specific example of an instance where these abuses had important implications.

In the last mayoral election, a member stated a motion for the UFT to support Bill Thompson for mayor. The whole floor was enthused, as evidence by the unanimous clapping in the room - a rare instance of the majority and minority in agreement. After a period of debate, a member asked for the motion to come to a vote.

Again breaking UFT and Rules of Order procedure - Mulgrew stepped into the debate (which is not allowed by the president) and basically took the floor from that member's motion right for a vote. He proceeded to continue the debate by calling on his cabinet to argue against voting for Thompson. After the Unity loyalists basically got the message that Mulgrew wasn't pleased - the eventual vote was unanimous against supporting Bill Thompson.

Now remember the results. Thompson lost by only 5 %. Had only 3 % of the votes shifted, or had not even shown up to vote for the Mayor, public education would be safer today. Had the UFT, sent out its people, like they did for Tony Avella, and mobilized it's full voting membership - we would not be dealing with Mayor Bloomberg.

The main error that both Michaels perpetrate is the notion that they know more than the democratic voice of the populace. And in a little defense of the two Michaels, the problem goes beyond the egos of these two men - but the very system that allows men like this to come into power. It's a problem that democracy has faced since its infancy.

Remember that when the constitution was ratified, only 10 to 16 % of the population (white men with property) were allowed to vote. It's an endless struggle between the interests of the rich and the interests of the majority. Let us remember that this vision of an equitable and free public education is only 60 years old. Like a new democracy, it has to be fought for and nothing is assured. True public education was born of struggle, and nothing short of struggle will keep its ideals alive.

Seung Ok
- Teacher

Bloomberg, Feeling Heat, Reaches Out/What Mayor Bloomberg and the Taliban have in common

From an anounymous source:

The mayor called some community leaders together yesterday for a meeting.  He asked for support for cathie black.  He made promises to get help to their communities.

What Mayor Bloomberg and the Taliban have in common

Then there was this piece from a NYC HS teacher who compares Bloomberg to the Taliban.

I hear all the time from people about how teachers are afraid to speak out. Funny, but I meet a hell of a lot of them who don't seem to be afraid. What is it? A moral imperative that overcomes fear? I don't really know. I was a big mouth but people tell me in these times I couldn't do that. If I couldn't I don't think I would have remained in the system. I feel very lucky to meet so many amazing teachers today that are out there. Seung is one of my favorites. Someone I want in the fox hole with me.

If you ask Mayor Bloomberg or any Taliban member why they are fighting the battles they do - you will hear heartfelt declarations of their ideology.  Invariably they invoke the betterment of the "people".  The Taliban, not trusting that the people know what's good for them, rely on religious police to go around measuring the length of men's beards, and imprisoning any woman caught outside without a male chaperon. 

Likewise, Mayor Bloomberg scoffs at parents who protect neighborhood schools he determines as failures.  On radio shows, he decries these parents as essentially - idiots.  Every year, his progress reports elevate the standard for A's, B's, and C's - thus assuring the closure of many schools. He absolves a democratic board of education, citing instances of corruption, while somehow rationalizing his "donations" to campaigns and foundations to sway votes, as mere charity. 

Fear is the tool that both use to get what they want.   The Taliban made soccer fields into sites for executions against those that broke their laws.  The mayor threatens the closure of schools, the firing of principals, and if he had his way, the mass firing of seasoned teachers.  Fear is such an effective tool that very few of those oppressed actually speak up. 

The societal model they both promote is a two tiered one.  The Taliban sets up one society for men, and another for women.  Men need not face any competition for jobs and schools from women.  Women walk in the shadows, denied all that men enjoy. 

In Bloomberg's world, charter schools and small schools gloss over the needs of English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and low achieving students - and often push them out - whereas public schools do not.  Charter schools get brand new technology and small class sizes  while district schools are forced to teach in cafeterias and overcrowded classrooms.

Ultimately, both have the delusion that they will make society better.  The Taliban will say that rape statistics have decreased - since women are not allowed on the streets alone.  They will say that crime is lower, since more men will keep their jobs not taken by women.  They will point to the fact divorce is almost unheard of- since women don't have the means to strike out on their own.  

Bloomberg's ideal society will be constructed in is own image.   It is a world that does not allow for plumbers, hair dressers, police officers, electricians, auto-mechanics....  And the only measure of success is to end up putting on a suit and looking down on the rest of society.  The Taliban's justification is religion, Bloomberg's justification is his egotistical vision. So what if the "people" have to suffer for the higher ideal of utopia? 

It is no wonder Mayor Bloomberg travels to China and lambasts the elected officials of our beloved yet imperfect democracy.  He could only dream of a communist structure where all his directives concerning sodium, cigarettes and unions were put into practice.  I'm sure the mayor also praises the Chinese system of education as well - where national standardized tests are required to get into middle schools, junior high schools, and high schools. 

The Taliban unleashes their fear through their guns while the mayor unleashes his through his cash.  In Afghanistan, the biggest dog on the block rules, in our land, it's the biggest bank roll.  When the majority of people accept their chains and, one day, even forgets the chains are there, then these visions of utopia will be reality.  

Seung Ok

- Teacher

See below the fold for links to a series of articles on Black & Bloomberg from The Examiner

Pt 1: Unraveling Black's NYC education siege $ insurrection against NYS Ed. Laws

http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/unraveling-black-s-nyc-education-siege-insurrection-against-nys-ed-laws-pt-1

Pt 2: Unraveling Black's NYC education siege $ insurrection against NYS Ed. Laws

http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/unraveling-black-s-nyc-education-siege-insurrection-against-nys-ed-laws-pt-2

Full Report: Unraveling Black's NYC Education Siege and Insurrection against US laws
http://protectthechildren777.blogspot.com/2010/12/unraveling-blacks-nyc-education-siege.html
AND
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6jyGBYPELFJYTBmYjljZTUtYzU0YS00NWVjLTlkYmYtMmUyZWU1YzljNzgw&hl=en

Steiner concocts gateway for Black's obstruction of the rule of law appointment
http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/steiner-concocts-gateway-for-black-s-obstruction-of-the-rule-of-law-appointment

NYS Commissioner Steiner: Education Administration Credentials?
http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/nys-commissioner-steiner-education-administration-credentials

Council on Foreign Relations: Bloomberg and Cathleen...
http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/council-on-foreign-relations-members-michael-bloomberg-and-kathleen-black-rule-n=

New York City's Education Crises: Unqualified Leadership Supported by Chief Infectious Disease Vaccine Developer". http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7422297-new-york-citys-education-crises-unqualified-leadership-supported-by-chief-infectious-disease-vaccine-developer

Criminal enterprise: Partnership for NYC, supports...
http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/criminal-enterprise-partnership-for-nyc-supports-ms-black-for-nyc-chancellor

Infectious disease vaccine developer chief supports...
http://www.examiner.com/esl-in-new-york/world-s-largest-infectious-disease-vaccine-developer-chief-jeff-kindler-support

At the GEM Blog: Video of Bronx Science Protest at Bloomberg's Home

Bronx Science Teachers Tell Bloomberg: Stop Harassment and Abuse

Bloomberg Machine to Run City Until 2225- at the very least

Term limits? Don' need no stickin' term limits. Today's NY Times puff profile on Bloomberg's mate Diana Taylor is practically an announcement that she will run for mayor when his term is over. And when her term is over, Emma will be ready. Add the Unity Caucus lifetime control of the UFT with designated successors and, you see, we do live in a monarchy. Long live the king (and queen).

Norman Siegel Talks to Parent Meeting About the Protest at Bloomberg's Residence

Norman Siegel tells a parent conference sponsored by Class Size Matters in NYC on January 16 about the recent court victory that gives protesters over Mayor Bloomberg's education policies the right to hold a protest on the side of the street (17 East 79th St) where he lives. Amongst a sea of objections, this protest focuses on the unfair and arbitrary closing of schools, the imposition of charter schools into public school buildings and the unfair treatment of public schools by the BloomKlein administration vis a vis charter schools. He lays out the conditions the protesters will be under. If you intend to attend, heed what Siegel says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fF_QyyTYxA

Parent, Student, and Teacher Protesters Win Right to Rally on Bloomberg’s Block

This is all over the internet already (ICE, CAPE, NYC Parents) but I might as well put it up for those too lazy to hit the links. Ed Notes was in the [court] house today trying to take notes as the case proceeded but the brain works faster than the hand and Julie really is becoming an expert press release writer.

I was pretty fascinated by the case preceding ours where a minor Madoff character named Anderson was sentenced to 90 months. He looked sort of old and pathetic and suffers from all kinds of stuff. When his lawyer said he was 64 I got the willies since I'm just 6 weeks shy of turning 65 (gulp). But I do get my half fare card. And senior citizen access to every movie theater. And social security. And hardening of the arteries.

Well, this thing is building, with even some politicians coming (we won't tell the UFT which ones since they would call and try to dissuade them.)

Knock, knock, UFT. Are you home? Ignoring this protest because it's at your buddy Bloomberg's place? That old sham you've been pulling that somehow it's all Klein's fault and Bloomberg is the good guy is wearing a bit thin. Mismanagement my ass. These "mismanagers" have run rings around you. Look within for the true mismanagers.

All along, I thought we were organizing a protest at Bloomberg's place in Bermuda. Had my shorts all ready. Next time.

Oh, and at the meeting at Norman Siegel's office Thursday night, he told the teachers involved they have a lifetime guarantee of his support if the BloomKlein admin makes any attempt at retaliation. Not knowing I was retired, he turned to me and said, "you too." Almost makes me want to go back to work. Almost, I said.

For Immediate Release

January 15, 2010

Contact: Julie Cavanagh, 917-836-6465, juliereed15@hotmail.com

Norman Siegel: 347-907-0867

Herbert Teitelbaum: 518-441-9412

Parent, Student, and Teacher Protesters Win Right to Rally on Bloomberg’s Block

Victory for the first amendment and for those struggling to protect public schools from closures and charter school invasions!

Today, Judge Alvin Hellerstein delivered a ruling granting parent, student, and teacher protesters, who are members of The Emergency Coalition to Stop School Closures, the right to protest on Mayor Bloomberg’s block in New York City. Judge Hellerstein ruled that we live in a democracy, and to the greatest extent possible, we have to find ways to protect our citizens, while not compromising the constitutional rights of others, to demonstrate and express their views. He went on to say that in assessing those values, he found that First Amendment rights support the kind of orderly and peaceful protest the plaintiffs sought to organize. Judge Hellerstein also added that the plaintiffs have the right to a peaceful picket to express their views in relation to important educational policies, particularly the increase in charter schools in the city. Attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Tietelbaum successfully argued the case.

“We are very pleased with the Judge’s decision. It is a major win for the right of New Yorkers to peacefully protest including on East 79^th Street where the Mayor resides,” attorney Norman Siegel.

“This is a victory not only for the plaintiffs, but for all who want to express their views to elected representatives,” attorney Herbert Tietelbaum.

“I am proud our efforts were successful and that we can take a stand in front of the city and the mayor to prevent the closing and phasing out of our school. Most of all I am happy we can voice our opinion on the city pushing out students in need in order to make room for charter schools and small schools that are very selective,” Khalilah , student, Maxwell High School.

“I am humbled that a homemaker from Red Hook, Brooklyn can take a stand against City Hall and win. The struggle to save our schools and public education is just beginning. Please join us on January 21^st on the Mayor’s block to send a message that says no, to the expansion of charter schools in schools like my children’s, P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. We also say no, to the ill defined school closings that pave the way for more charter schools and continue the dismantling of public education,” Lydia Bellahcene, parent, P.S. 15.

“Today is historic for protesting in the City of New York. I am so proud to stand with the parents and students I serve as we fight not only for our right to organize, but as we advocate to protect and preserve public education in our great city. It is not lost on me as an educator that this decision was made on Martin Luther King’s birthday. His legacy of peaceful and loving activism captures the culture of our school, P.S. 15. It is in this spirit that we bring our voices and concerns to the Mayor’s block in the hopes that there, we will be heard,” Julie Cavanagh, teacher, P.S. 15, “We want to thank, with much admiration and respect, Mr. Siegel, Mr. Tittelbaum and their staff, for their tremendous hard work and their dedication to protecting not only our rights, but the rights of all New Yorkers. I also want to thank the amazing parents and students I am so proud to stand behind and support.”

“The decision reaffirms the rights of citizens to protest on a city sidewalk, and prevents the mayor from turning a public city street into his own private front yard. Furthermore, it will allow parents, students, teachers, and members of the 22 communities affected by school closures to have their voices of discontent heard by the Mayor,” Seung Ok, Teacher, Maxwell High School.

“The right to demonstrate is not a given, it must be fought for, and we must be vigilant,” Gustavo Medina, retired teacher, Jamaica High School.

Parents, students, and teachers will hold their peaceful protest on both the North and South side of Mayor Bloomberg's block; East 79st, between 5th and Madison Avenue on Thursday, January 21st, between 4-6:30 pm. Protesters will meet at 5th avenue, on the southwest park side of the block, which will be the staging area and starting point of the protest. In the event of an appeal from The City of New York, the protest will continue on January 21^st, in compliance with the NYPD.

Media Contacts:

Lydia Bellahcene: lillytigre@yahoo.com, 347-463-9809, PTA PS 15- 718-330-9280

Julie Cavanagh: juliereed15@hotmail.com, 917-836-6465

Seung Ok: possitivelypessimist@gmail.com, 646-244-4468

Norman Siegel: 347-907-0867

Herbert Teitelbaum: 518-441-9412

Khalilah Dickerson- 347-264-4527/lilahmissco@hotmail.com

Richard McDonald- 347-445-3927/mcdonald_richie@yahoo.com

Jan. 21 Rally at Bloomberg Home Update

A recently activated teacher organizing for the Jan. 21 protest at Bloomberg home writes:

Hey Everyone,

I made it to three schools yesterday and put flyers out on several blocks in. But today, at a workshop, [ x] and I spoke to the teachers at the end. Some knew, some did not about what is going on. Everyone left with the web address. A couple said they are alarmed and their schools will be at the mayors' block rally. It felt good to know the message is growing.

Please if you can stop at a school on your way to work and give them the message and the flyer! Momentum is slowly catching on.

Wake up all the schools and teachers you cross.

Mayor’s Critics Sue to Protest Outside His Home

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/critics-of-mayors-school-policies-sue-for-right-to-protest-outside-his-house/

January 13, 2010, 2:03 pm Updated: 4:24 pm --

By SHARON OTTERMAN
NYTimes CityRoom Blog

A group that opposes charter schools and school closings filed a lawsuit against the city on Tuesday for “unconstitutionally and without any legal basis” denying its request to protest on the sidewalk outside the Upper East Side town house of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The plaintiffs are two students from William H. Maxwell High School in Brooklyn, which is slated to close for poor performance, and a parent and teacher from Public School 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, an elementary school that shares space with the PAVE Academy Charter School. The city has proposed to allow PAVE to remain in the school for five more years, as it grows to include kindergarten through eighth grade, and teachers and parents at P.S. 15 have been furious.

“Our voices haven’t been heard, so we thought that the best way for the mayor to hear us would be for us to take our voices to his block,” said Julie Cavanagh, a special education teacher at P.S. 15. “There have been rallies at Tweed, and the individual schools, and its been a complete deaf ear.” (The former Tweed courthouse is where the Department of Education’s main offices are located.)

The protesters want to march back and forth along both sides of 79th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues, in single file, on Jan. 21, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mr. Bloomberg lives on the north side of the street. While the New York City police have frequently turned down permits to protest on the north side, in 2003, they allowed a group protesting the closure of firehouses to march on both sides.

The plaintiffs decided to press the issue as a civil rights matter. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District, argues that just as protesters are able to march outside Gracie Mansion, where mayors normally live, so too should they be able to protest outside Mr. Bloomberg’s house, where he conducts political activities like receptions and fund-raisers.

On Tuesday, the Police Department offered a compromise: the protest could proceed on the south side of 79th street, Ms. Cavanagh said. The plaintiffs turned down the offer, saying the city should not be able to pick who protests on the north side.

A lawyer for the city, Gabriel Taussig, said in an e-mailed statement, “The Police Department’s refusal to agree to a demonstration procession on the sidewalk in front of the mayor’s residence and its proposal that the event take place on the street and sidewalk across from the mayor’s residence was a lawful and appropriate accommodation to the protesters’ desire to exercise their First Amendment rights while at the same time assuring that safety and necessary access can be maintained at the mayor’s residence.”

Norman Siegel, the former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, is representing the protesters, along with Herbert Teitelbaum, the former executive director of the Commission on Public Integrity.

“The larger issue is clear: Can a public sidewalk be transformed into a private enclave because the mayor of New York lives there?” Mr. Siegel said. “The answer is no.”

Mr. Siegel said he expected a ruling from Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein on Friday.

Parents, Students, and Teachers Fight for the Right to Protest on the Mayor’s Block

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
NYC

Parents, Students, and Teachers Fight for the Right to Protest on the Mayor’s Block

Today, attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teiteleaum filed papers in United States District Court, Southern District, on behalf of a parent, two students and a teacher who are members of The Emergency Coalition to Stop School Closings, to hold a protest on the Mayor’s block on the Upper East Side on January 21st.

The Emergency Coalition intends to hold a city-wide protest on the Mayor’s block, on January 21, 2010 from 4:00-6:30. Parents, students, and teachers view this as their First Amendment right and vital to have their voices heard regarding the unfair and destructive educational policies being proposed by the NYC Department of Education.

“The Bloomberg Administration is undermining our schools, without any compassion or understanding of how these policies will affect our children. It’s time for parents to stand up and say no! We refuse to take it anymore. Our schools are the lifeblood of our communities, and we will take our voices and our struggle to the Mayor’s block in the hope that there, we will finally be heard,” Lydia Bellahcene, Parent, PS 15, The Patrick F. Daly School, Red Hook, Brooklyn.

“ My school, as well as many of the others that the city wants to close, are doing as well as we can given the continued budget cuts, overcrowding, and the other challenges we face. What we need is more support, smaller classes, and more programs to engage us, not to be closed down and replaced by small schools or charter schools which will make us travel many miles away or exclude us from attending,” Khalilah Dickerson, student, Maxwell High School.

"I feel it's important to rally on the mayor's block, because he needs to hear how students and the community really feels about school closures. Our school has been making progress, so it is wrong to close a school that is improving. The mayor seems to be making decisions without listening to us, the ones he claims to be helping. This is why we want to march on the Mayor’s block - so he can hear our voices loud and clear, " Richard McDonald, student, Maxwell High School.

“The Bloomberg Administration’s current policy of school closings and charter school invasions highlight a clear intent to dismantle public education. Stakeholders from the affected school communities, insist we have the right to protest on the Mayor’s block to prevent our communities from being divided and disenfranchised.” Julie Cavanagh, Teacher PS 15K, Representative from CAPE, Concerned Advocates for Public Education, a parent and teacher coalition at PS 15K.

“The average New Yorker believes that the Mayor has been enacting reforms that better the education of the 1.1 million students in our public school system. By protesting, we want to expose the fact that school closures and the threat of closure have done immense harm to these students' education. Closures have caused the flight of quality teachers from high needs areas, stripped curriculums of all but mindless drilling for high stakes testing, brought corruption in the form of credit recovery and social promotion, and set the way for a two tiered system under charter school disparity.” Seung Ok, Teacher Maxwell High School.

James Eterno, chapter leader at Jamaica HS says: "This administration is closing schools down like they are franchises whose revenue is declining. What they don't realize is that Jamaica HS, like many of these other schools, is an integral part of its community, has had a long tradition of success before Klein was made chancellor, and despite his negative policies, is improving rapidly -- with a 15% increase in graduation rate in recent years. We will advocate for its survival even if we have to take the message to the Mayor's front door."

The Emergency Coalition to Stop School Closings is comprised of dedicated parents, students, and teachers who seek to protect and support NYC public schools from the detrimental policies of the Bloomberg Administration and are demanding that the Department of Education halt school closures and the charter school invasions that are undermining the health of our public education system.

No matter what the court decides, the Coalition intends to go ahead with their plan to protest in Bloomberg’s neighborhood on January 21st, whether on the Mayor’s block or in a nearby location. Protesters will be meeting at 4:00 at 5th Avenue and 79th street on the park side.

Media Contacts:
Lydia Bellahcene: lillytigre@yahoo.com, 347-463-9809, PTA PS 15- 718-330-9280

Khalilah Dickerson- 347-264-4527/lilahmissco@hotmail.com
Richard McDonald- 347-445-3927/mcdonald_richie@yahoo.com
Julie Cavanagh: juliereed15@hotmail.com, 917-836-6465
Seung Ok: possitivelypessimist@gmail.com, 646-244-4468
James Eterno: jeterno@nyc.rr.com , 718-268-0788

Norman Siegel: 347-907-0867

Herberet Teiteleaum: 518-441-9412

###

ICE urges all readers to vote against Bloomberg!

Published at the ICE blogs and web site: UFT Elections 2010, ICE Blog, ICE Web site

ICE Statement on the Nov. 3, 2009 Vote for Mayor

The election on November 3^rd will have lasting consequences for public education and the city. It deserves the attention and involvement of all New Yorkers. The UFT has a long history of candidate endorsements made without any regular process of consultation with the membership and often contrary to members' interests. The decision to sit out the contest between Michael Bloomberg and his opponents speeds us to the brink of more disasters. If appearances are real and the UFT leadership's passive support for the mayor's reelection is a deal for a new UFT contract by deadline, our union is deeply complicit in another landmark defeat for the teaching profession.

Nearly eight years of direct control over the schools have provided Bloomberg with an unchecked opportunity to implement numerous policies premised on distrust and contempt for teachers, students and school communities. Early on with his rush to implement grade retention policy he put the blame on 8-year olds for low reading scores and further worked to make standardized testing a year-round concern. “Weekend, vacations, summer -- time off is a luxury earned, not a right,” he told a radio audience in 2002. Chancellor Klein went to work making testing an obsession for all schools by hanging their fate on it.

His administration accelerated the wholesale closing of neighborhood high schools. Together with a successful assault on teachers' contractual rights this led to the creation of an excess teacher reserve force in the thousands. The result of dozens of school phase-outs deepened the gulf between the two worlds children in New York encounter at the high school level. One consists mostly of large neighborhood or selective schools and is increasingly filled with white and Asian students An entirely different realm awaits black and Latino students consisting mostly of new small schools, stripped of both enrichment programs, IEP services and bilingual programs and plagued with teacher turnover.

The new schools have been staffed with discriminatory hiring through privately-run programs. Just as tens of millions in funding by Bill Gates went to school reorganizations, Eli Broad's millions were used to train principals to see teachers as antagonists. In recent years Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein have extended the agenda of privatized education by embracing charter schools, displaying a marked preference for the chain operators. Their favoritism towards the charters has allowed them to invade neighborhood schools and shrink them.

For educational activists the past eight years have meant not only palpable damage but also lost opportunity for positive and progressive change. The Bloomberg monopoly of power has excluded local participation in decision making, eliminating a common entry into politics by Black and Latino New Yorkers. It has also preempted meaningful discussion around educational goals and policy. What should be the goals of a public education? How can schools do more just provide an exit from the poorest communities? How could schools be part of a collective effort to improve neighborhoods and increase democracy?

Bill Thompson has played an important role as city comptroller in exposing Bloomberg-era fraud and mismanagement. His supporters are waging a spirited fight against a billionaire mayor with lopsidedly less resources. It is difficult to offer Thompson unqualified support when he has thrown support to mayoral control and supports much of the underlying corporate agenda for education. The mayoral race this year also attracted Tony Avella (who Thompson defeated) and Billy Palen who is running as the Green Party candidate. Both advocated a more grassroots response to the current mess and it's a shame Thompson didn't adopt some of their policies in his campaign against the mayor.

Despite these differences anything other than energetic rejection of the Bloomberg monopoly is the wrong choice for our union.

We urge all readers to vote against Bloomberg!

Endorse Thomson Resolution Trashed at DA Fearful UFT Leaders Surrender to Bloombergs’s Reich

Special to Ed Notes

By Philip Nobile

Sometimes union loyalty asks too much. Like heeding the advice of UFT leaders at yesterday’s Delegate Assembly NOT to do the right thing by endorsing our ally Bill Thompson in favor of our enemy Mayor Bloomberg and avoiding his payback in contract negotiations.

Stretching for the offensive historical allusion, President Mulgrew, Political Action Director Egan, and Staff Director Barr told us not to join the Resistance because the Fuehrer might get mad. And the delegates, who originally voted enthusiastically to discuss the endorsement resolution, turned around and cheered Barr’s full throated, morally compromised, debate ending cri to postpone a decision. If things change in the next three weeks, he said, we can bring you back. As if.

Mulgrew telegraphed his Thompson position prior to the debate when he said, “I suspend my emotions” (read conscience) and voiced his mantra, repeated ad nauseam by the non-endorsers, about acting “in the best interest of the membership” and “our job is to protect their well being” … without adding “because a sweeter contract is more important than our integrity,” thus killing his shot at a Profile in Courage Award.

Speaking relentlessly against the resolution, Political Non-Action Director Egan earned the Dick Morris Triangulation Award for ticking off realistic political reasons for icing Thompson—the polls are bad, there’s an eight point gap, the best an endorsement can do is move three points, no winning strategy, other unions back Mayor, negotiations would end, why take the risk. Egan went further to ridicule the highroaders—“It’s not the Alamo. There’s nothing virtuous in falling on our sword.” So don’t fight Santa Anna in City Hall. Mulgrew profusely thanked the Triangulater for justifying surrender.

Speaking boldly for the resolution was a delegate who dared to unleash his emotions: We’re dying with bad data, U-ratings, reassignments, Bloomberg regime is brutal to teachers, to students, Thompson has supported us and he’s not Bloomberg who’s making hay on education. And virtuously falling on candor, the delegate conceded that Thompson would probably lose. Camus would love this guy, but not the Vichyites in the room.

In the end, Barr killed with his let’s-wait argument. “If we endorse Thompson,” he said, negotiations end. Now we are players. We have to do what’s best for the members.”

Contract, contract über Alles.

To understand all is not to forgive all.

Philip Nobile is a former staff writer for Esquire, New York, and the Village Voice. He has been reassigned to Brooklyn’s Chapel St. rubber room for the past two years on two trumped up (he says) corporal punishment complaints. Although OSI substantiated the complaints, to date the DOE has failed file charges.

Note: Ed Notes has not endorsed Thompson due to his refusal to rigorously attack Bloomberg's education record but urges people to vote for him to keep the Bloomberg winning percentage as low as possible. Nobile points to UFT political director Paul Egan's point that a UFT endorsement would at most mean around 3% points for Thompson (now we know the value of all the time and money the UFT spends on endorsements). The closer Thompson comes the weaker Bloomberg would be in the future based on a lower perceived mandate which would weaken him politically. We will add our own thoughts on the DA later.

See James Eterno's report at the ICE blog:

Behind Bloomberg Charter Announcement: Trashing His Own Record on Education

If you haven't gotten the message yet that Bloomberg's main mission has been to dismantle the public education school system, yesterday's announcement on charter schools should have made it loud and clear. But we'll leave that issue for later posts on how the DOE tilts in favor of charters every time.

Out focus of interest here is that Bloomberg has been running on his record on education, with all its lies and distortions. Yet in parsing his major initiative on charter schools, he basically trashes his own record.

Note this piece from the Bloomberg press release on the recent Hoxby study on charter schools, which has been criticized for its lack of academic rigor (here and here.)

Stanford University Professor Caroline M. Hoxby recently released a comprehensive study that found that students who were accepted into charters – who are more likely to come from poor families – performed nearly as well on state math and reading tests as students who attended school in the affluent Westchester suburb of Scarsdale. Professor Hoxby’s research found that it is the charter schools themselves – and not the pool of self-selecting students – that makes the difference. Students who gain admission to a charter school via the randomized lottery perform better than students who participate in the same random lottery, but do not get a seat due to oversubscription

In other words, Bloomberg is bragging about a study that shows kids in schools he doesn't manage do significantly better than in schools he has managed for 7 years. And he is running on that record. Brilliant. And the press will let him get away with it. Shameful.

I put up the entire Bloomberg press release for further parsing at Norms Notes.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES HISTORIC EXPANSION OF NYC’S CHARTER SCHOOLS

Note this:

Partner with NYCHA to Provide Facilities and Property For Charter Schools
With severe overcrowding in so many Bloomberg controlled schools, he never sought a partnership with NYCHA to relieve that situation but is promoting this for charters.

Here is the link to the more thoughtful blog which analyzed the Hoxby study
http://morethoughtful.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-is-gold-standard.html

Related:
A nice touch on Bloomberg's record from themail in DC:

DC's mayoral takeover of the public school system is based on the New York City model advocated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg has repeatedly claimed that changes made under his direction have improved education. But the New York Post reported on September 9 (http://tinyurl.com/yjf5qux) that, “City and state scores on SATs spiraled downward for the fourth straight year, according to new data. Since hitting a peak in 2005, the city's average score on each 800-point section of the SAT has dropped by 13 points in reading, to 435, and by 18 points in math, to 459. Scores on the writing section, which was introduced in 2006, have dropped by six points, to 432.”

The excuse for the drop in performance was racially tinged: “City Department of Education officials said the dramatic drop was fueled by the substantial increase in low-performing students taking the test — particularly black and Hispanic students who may not have considered college in the past.” Education officials hail in increase in minority students taking the test, “

But the same data hailed as a positive trend also highlighted an increase in the achievement gap between whites and their black and Hispanic peers since 2005. That gap has stretched by about 20 points in both math and reading — with whites now scoring an average 108 points higher in math and nearly 100 points higher in reading than minorities.”

On Bloomberg's Plane: Randi in Select Company

Randi caught a ride from the Hamptons with Bloomberg, his girlfriend Diana Taylor, and top aid Kevin Sheekey. Think they were talking contract? One proposal is for ATRs who do not get a job to wipe bird gunk off Bloomberg's planes.



The great David B strikes again. Click to enlarge - check book titles.

And see Gary Babad's GBN News Report.

Was it the Bird? Was it the Plane? No, it was Super-Mayor!

The City Hall Press Conference on Parent Power, Round 1

Reposted:

It was a fun afternoon around Chambers Street yesterday. The press conference at City Hall was a highlight. (Photo from Epoch Times.)

I went over to the press conference at City Hall after spending some time at the David Pakter hearing (what a hoot!) across the street and taped most of the speeches. There was lots of disdain on the faces of DOE people and many reporters (CBS' Marcia Kramer was priceless) as the much disparaged State Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada led the parade in calling for more parent power with a large crowd behind them on the steps of City Hall.

But there were also good speeches by very reputable state senators Shirley Huntley, Bill Perkins and Eric Adams. GEM's Brian Jones and PS 123 parent activist Bill Hargreaves also spoke. I'm working on putting up videos of the non-scoundrels. The Epoch Times has a report with a quote from Brian and a counter quote from the UFT:

Brian Jones, who has been a teacher in Harlem for six years, said that the states’ allocation of funding to create and remodel charter schools is an attempt to privatize education. He is a member of the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), which seeks to “save our schools from privatization,” said a flier.

Ron Davis of the UFT denied the threat of privatization posed by charter schools by saying that charter schools are public schools that have specialized programs.

The full story is here:
Senators and Parents Protest Mayor’s School Control

City Councilman Charles Barron had a different angle, despite the fact his wife, Assembley woman Inez Barron joined the others:

Barron On Amigos' Mayoral Control Battle: 'A Front' And 'A Fraud

Charles Barron talked to Elizabeth Benjamin at The Daily Politics:

"accused the amigos of trying "to undermine black leadership," adding: "We should have left their behinds over there (with the Republicans)."

"I'm down with stopping mayoral control; I'm not down with Espada and Hiram Monserrate and Kruger and Diaz," Barron continued. "They betrayed the cause for them to go over and try to empower Republicans until they got their little personal agenda satisfied."

"This ain't about mayoral control for them; it's not about decontrol, vacancy decontrol. It's not about the people's agenda. He finally got, Espada, a position he should not have had, and Hiram probably cut some deal somewhere, too. This was never about what they're trying to front about now...It was about Hiram's agenda and Espada's agenda...This is a fraud."

See the video and read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/07/barron-on-amigos-mayoral-contr.html#ixzz0MB2ClOPn

Related:
Wayne Barrett in The Voice on a pending deal - Holy Cow - Debbie Meier was the sticking point!

Fiorillo Takes Weingarten to Task

Michael punches holes in Randi's praise THANKING THE MAYOR for bringing “stability, accountability and cohesion” to the school system. Below is side one of the ICE leaflet handed out at the Delegate Assembly on June 24. The other side consisted of the Kaufman/Eterno blog posts on the pension give away in exchange for the 2 Labor Days (see below for links).


As a Chapter Leader and member of the union’s School Governance Task Force, who proposed an alternative governance system and voted against the final report, I must nevertheless comment on President Weingarten’s contemptuous disregard for the committee’s work and the votes in favor of it.

The Task Force, which met and worked diligently for almost a year-and-a half to fashion a report, came into existence because of the law’s sunset provision and widespread teacher dissatisfaction with mayoral control. It NEVER considered a citywide governance structure whereby the mayor would continue to have a majority of votes on the citywide board. In her op-ed piece in the May 21st issue of the New York Post, apparently written in an effort to impress Rupert Murdoch and other enemies of teachers and public education, Weingarten effectively spat in the faces of the members of the committee that worked on the report, the union’s Executive Board and the Delegate Assembly, which approved it, and the membership, which had some meager hopes of seeing their work lives improved by it.

President Weingarten often speaks of how the Delegate Assembly is the highest policy-making body in the union; I guess it is, except when it isn’t.

Incredibly, President Weingarten, in her defense of the indefensible, has been going around speaking and even THANKING THE MAYOR for bringing “stability, accountability and cohesion” to the school system. This not only rubs salt in the wounds, but adds Orwellian phrasing to the discussion:

STABILITY?
- What about the serial reorganizations?
- What about the epidemic of school closings,certain to increase under a continued mayoral dictatorship?
- What about the loss of seniority rights, the ever-expanding pool of ATRs and rubber room victims who are seeing there professional lives destroyed?
- What about communities that are being pitted against each other by having charter schools placed in public school buildings and receiving preferential treatment and funding?

ACCOUNTABILITY?
- What about the “failing” and closed schools, each of which is a black mark against the competence of this regime? It seems only teachers are accountable for that.
- What about the school bus fiasco? The no-bid contracts? The brazen law-breaking over Special Ed? The game playing over test scores? This regime has acted in total disregard for the rights of children, teachers and parents. And President Weingarten has acted unilaterally to insure its continuation.

COHESION?
- Remember Balanced Literacy? Intimidation and micromanagement over blackboards? Revolving Deputy Chancellors for Instruction? The only cohesion has been in their unrelenting attacks on the working conditions and professionalism of teachers.

By unilaterally turning her back in the wishes of the membership and the activist parents who placed their hope and faith in the UFT’s ability to do something about mayoral dictatorship, Randi Weingarten has insured the continuance of school overcrowding, testing mania, privatization, attacks on tenure and seniority, and the viability of public education in New York City and nationally.

President Weingarten, by enabling Bloomberg and the other oligarchs who seek to profit from the destruction of the public schools, you may have insured another two-year contract and better treatment for yourself in the editorial pages and in corporate boardrooms, but you have in the immediate and long term undermined the Union, its members, students, parents and public schools. That is your legacy as president of the UFT.

Michael Fiorillo
Chapter Leader


Related from the ICE blog

BILLION DOLLAR DAYS OFF

FLIP-FLOP: RANDI OPPOSED TIER V ON JUNE 5th & NOW SHE WANTS IT

What Else Did She Give Away?