Governor Cuomo Orchestrated Charter School Deal at Behest of Campaign Supporters
In New York last month there appeared to be a welling up of concern by parents because the new mayor, Bill de Blasio, had threatened to change course. He planned to turn away from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s overwhelming support for the charter schools that serve 6 percent of the city’s children and move support to the traditional public schools serving 94 percent of the children along with adding pre-kindergarten and middle school after-school programs.
It was made to appear that public support for charters was greater than anybody knew, and it was made to look as though the new Mayor de Blasio finally had to cave in to a wave of public pressure. But yesterday the NY Times confirmed that the whole performance was orchestrated by New York’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo—orchestrated at the behest of his financial supporters.
Reporters Javier Hernandez and Susanne Craig write: “… interviews with state and city officials as well as education leaders make it clear that far from being a mere cheerleader, the governor was a potent force at every turn, seizing on missteps by the mayor, a fellow Democrat, and driving legislation from start to finish.”
In February, after Mayor de Blasio and his new schools chancellor Carmen Farina moved funds from an account set aside to prepare space for charter school co-locations to another Governor Cuomo Orchestrated Charter School Deal at Behest of Campaign Supporters | janresseger: