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Monday, March 29, 2010

Schools Matter: Prince Bloomberg Must Obey Law: School Closures Halted

Schools Matter: Prince Bloomberg Must Obey Law: School Closures Halted


Prince Bloomberg Must Obey Law: School Closures Halted

In a rebuke of the Little Dictator of Manhattan, the Courts have ruled. From NYTimes:

A judge on Friday blocked the closing of 19 schools for poor performance, finding the city engaged in “significant violations” of the new state law governing mayoral control of city schools.
The ruling, a setback to one of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s signature education policies, means the city will have to start over in making its case to close the schools, this time, the judge wrote, with “meaningful community involvement.”
Unless the decision is overturned, it will most likely result in all the schools’ remaining open for at least another year. The law requires the closing process to begin at least six months before the start of the next school year.
The decision cleared the path for high school acceptance letters, which had been delayed because of the lawsuit, to go out to eighth graders around the city.
The decision, by Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, was a victory for theUnited Federation of Teachers and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which joined more than a dozen elected leaders and parents in suing to stop the closings.
They argued that the city had failed to comply with the mayoral control law passed last year, which