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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Mayor Bloomberg facing pressure to apologize for insulting public school parents

Mayor Bloomberg facing pressure to apologize for insulting public school parents

Mayor Bloomberg facing pressure to apologize for insulting public school parents

Saturday, May 21st 2011, 4:00 AM

Public Advocate Bill De Blasio said Mayor Bloomberg, above, should stop treating parents like 'problems.'
Lombard for News
Public Advocate Bill De Blasio said Mayor Bloomberg, above, should stop treating parents like 'problems.'

Mayor Bloomberg is under pressure to apologize for insulting public school parents who oppose his education reforms.

In his weekly WOR radio appearance, Bloomberg responded to a question about why parents fight the city's efforts to close struggling schools that are often in poor, immigrant and minority neighborhoods.

"There are some parents who ... never had a formal education, and they don't understand the value of education," Hizzoner said.

"The old Norman Rockwell family is gone. Some of these kids don't have parents. There's nobody to stand up for them."

This week, the NAACP and the teachers union sued to block the closing of 22 struggling schools with support from some parents.

It's the third year in a row the union has sued to block closings.

The last two lawsuits have been successful.

"How dare he and how disrespectful of him to think we don't have the brain power - whether we have a Ph.D. or an eighth grade education - to know what we want for our



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/05/21/2011-05-21_ps_parents_flunk_bloomy_vent_outrage_over_his_comments_about_students_kin_as_de_.html#ixzz1MzpmlxSi