Foiled Again: An Inside Look At Joel Klein’s War Against Public Schools And Teacher Unions
Over a year ago, the UFT submitted a Freedom of Information request for emails between Joel Klein and other top DoE brass, on the one hand, and the leaders of the New York City Charter School Center, the New York Charter School Association, Democrats for Education Reform and other leading supporters of corporate education reform. As it does with FOIL requests that do not suit their purposes, the DoE stonewalled the request. (Take note of the contrast with the DoE’s eagerness to release the Teacher Data Reports.) Last month, the UFT went to court, arguing that the DoE’s continual delays amounted to constructive denial of the FOIL law. Facing the inevitable, last Friday the DoE began to release the emails, sending several hundred to the UFT and the news media. Another 15,000 emails are still to come, so keep your eyes peeled on this one.
Here are some of the highlights of the emails just released.
Here are some of the highlights of the emails just released.
- NYC DoE Chancellor Joel Klein takes a personal interest in UFT charter organizing work. When the UFT announced that it had organized the NYC Charter School for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries in the South Bronx, Klein emails Charter School Center CEO James Merriman, “U know what this is abt?” Merriman replies, “Nope. But not surprising.”
- When the UFT publishes a report, Separate and Unequal: The Failure of NYC’s Charter Schools to Serve the City’s Neediest Students, Merriman is sending out a response within hours of its release — not surprising given his role as spokesperson for charter school management in NYC. But two days later, the then head of the DoE’s Charter School Office, Michael Duffy, is sending out another critique, using DoE