Perdido Street School:
What That Meeting On Long Island Between Teachers Union Leaders And Cuomo Signifies
Perdido Street School Week
What That Meeting On Long Island Between Teachers Union Leaders And Cuomo Signifies
In case you missed the news, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, the "steppin' razor" of New York politics, the politician of whom it is said, "You either do what he wants you to do or you're road kill," had a meeting with the heads of five small local unions on Long Island this week:Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo met Thursday with teachers who had protested his education policies at a large rally
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Praises Andrew Cuomo For Championing Charter Schools
With progressives, public school parents and teachers looking to ditch him this election season and vote for a candidate who doesn't want to destroy public schools, this is probably not the kind of praise Governor Andrew Cuomo is happy about:Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor praised Andrew Cuomo on the floor of the House on Friday, citing the governor's intervention on behalf of the cit
NY Post Calls UFT Contract "Satanic"
I know, I know - you think I'm engaging in hyperbole.But I'm not.A piece by Jenny Sedlis of StudentsFirstNY, written in reaction to some bravado remarks Mulgrew made Wednesday at the Delegates Assembly, is entitled: "The Satanic Details".The remarks Sedlis is "outraged" about were these:Union boss Mike Mulgrew went to his delegates on Wednesday and ’fessed up to his goal: reven
NY Times: Cuomo Could Be Vulnerable On Moreland Tampering Charges
When Cuomo created the Moreland Commission, he claimed it would be an investigative panel independent from his office:Last July, Mr. Cuomo said it would be “an independent commission that is free to investigate whatever they believe needs to be investigated on the merits.” The next day, he promised that its members would be “totally independent.” He also financed a television commercial describing
MAY 08
De Blasio Says UFT Contract Agreement Sets Pattern For Rest Of Unions, NYC Budget
This sounds like a mayor who thinks he's a UFT rank-and-file that's going along with the contract proposal:After reaching a preliminary deal with the United Federation of Teachers last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio presented his $73.9 billion executive budget on Thursday as a "real budget" based on a presumed pattern from the U.F.T. deal.De Blasio's proposal allocated roughly $5.5 billion t
Mulgrew Gets Definitive At The DA: No Paying For Health Care
There was a leaked memo going around that said city workers will pay a percentage of their salaries toward health care as per a "savings" agreement made between the city and the Municipal Labor Committee.Here's how the payments will work according to the memo:Salary<$30,000Contribution Percentage of Salary0.0%$30,000 - $40,0000.5%$40,000 - $50,0001.0%$50,000 - $60,0001.5%$60,000+2.
Student Suspended For Opting Out Of Assessment Test
More negative news for the testing regime: An Alabama teen says she was suspended from school after she refused to take a local assessment test, contrary to an earlier report from WAAY-TV that the test was aligned with the state's Common Core curriculum. Alyssa McKinney, an eighth-grade student at Whitesburg Middle School in Huntsville, Ala., told the station she was given two in-school suspension
MAY 07
No Surprises: UFT Delegates Assembly "Overwhelmingly Approves" Contract Proposal
U.F.T. delegate assembly "overwhelming approves" new contract, via U.F.T. Now goes to mail ballots before ratification.— Eliza Shapiro (@elizashapiro) May 7, 2014Not a surprise, of course - the DA is rigged with Unity caucus votes.Whatever Mulgrew wants, the DA gives him. And so now the only thing that will stop the contract proposal from becoming the contract is if the rank-and-file vot
Brian Jones Announces He Will Seek Green Party Nomination For Lieutenant Governor
This is welcome news:ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York City educator says he'll seek the Green Party's nomination for lieutenant governor. Brian Jones announced his candidacy Wednesday and plans a formal campaign kick-off Thursday in New York City. Jones has taught in New York City public schools for nine years and is currently working toward a doctorate at the City University of New York. He says he's a
SUNY Chancellor Breaks Out The Cliches For Common Core Support
From Politics on the Hudson:The State University of New York Board of Trustees today passed a resolution in support of the controversial Common Core teaching standards, saying the tougher tests will better prepare students for college....“Forty-six percent of the state’s high school graduates who attend college in New York enroll at SUNY each year, and far too many are simply not ready,” said Boar
Is The Tentative UFT Contract Changing How The System Deals With Teachers Rated "Ineffective" On Testing Components?
The tentative contract language is finally available to peruse - you can find it here.I noticed this:Measures of Student Learning Options1. For the 2014 - 15 school year and thereafter the DOE shall create new measures (referred to as “Linked Measures”) for Local and State Measures of Student Learning such that there is an option for each teacher to be evaluated based upon assessment results of st
MAY 06
Quid Pro Cuomo - Did Cuomo Give On Moreland To Get Goodies For His Charter School Donors?
As has been reported around the media today, the US Attorney for the Southern District appears to be looking into allegations that Governor Cuomo and/or his office interfered into potential criminal investigations being conducted by the Moreland Commission panel.Here's how State of Politics wrote that story up:The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District dropped another shoe, and this time
Municipal Labor Committee Backs UFT/De Blasio Plan For Health Care Plan
Not a surprise - the Municipal Labor Committee did exactly what Mulgrew and the UFT wanted on this:The Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella group of New York City unions, voted Monday in support of a proposal championed by Mayor Bill de Blasio that the mayor says will generate $3.4 billion in health-care savings.Several public safety unions—the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New Y
US Attorney Subpoenas Moreland Commission Members, Cuomo Interference May Be Target
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has another day with no public appearances scheduled:Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany with no public schedule. Perhaps he is in his office brooding over this news: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have issued a grand jury subpoena seeking emails, text messages and other records from all the members of the anticorruption commission that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo abruptly shut down
MAY 05
Citizens For Responsibility & Ethics In Washington Names Andrew Cuomo One Of The Worst Governors In The Country
From the CREW website:The only thing transparent about Gov. Cuomo’s administration is his obvious attempt to avoid disclosure. Gov. Cuomo has faced criticism for his transparency record, stemming from his efforts as governor to block access to records from his tenure as governor and state attorney general. Gov. Cuomo and his administration have largely forgone the use of email for official busines
Cuomo Tried To Talk Teachers Union Local Out Of Anti-Cuomo Protest On Long Island
So many stories today about Governor Cuomo's increasing political desperation.First he cancelled his appearance at an Education Reform Now-sponsored conference at which he had been named "honorary chair" after the the meeting of wealthy edu-entrepreneurs and hedge fund managers became a flash point for parents and teachers around the state.Then we got word from Fred Dicker in the NY Post
Another Saham From Andrew Cuomo
Remember when Cuomo parachuted in to save the TWU/MTA contract deal?Turns out the whole thing was orchestrated by Cuomo's office to make him look the "hero":If the latest episode of the MTA-TWU drama seemed a bit scripted, it’s for good reason. It was scripted. In what might be dubbed the “Fairy Tale of Albany” or the “White Knight from Mount Kisco,” the hero who saved the day was Gov. C
More Signs Of Political Weakness For Andrew Cuomo
Fred Dicker in the NY Post:Republican strategists are crowing that Gov. Cuomo made a major political blunder last week when, joining with the Rev. Al Sharpton, he attacked GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino for allegedly supporting racial discrimination in Westchester County. The explosive charge, in Democratic TV ads and party statements, focuses on claims by HUD, the federal housing agency C
MAY 04
Andrew Cuomo Shows His Cowardice
In case you missed the news, Andrew Cuomo has pulled out of his billed appearance at the Education Reform Now-sponsored education reform retreat at Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid.According to Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY, Cuomo cited scheduling difficulties for the conference and has sent a video along instead of driving himself over on his motorcycle and appearing as the "honorary chair.&qu
Michelle Rhee Says The UFT Contract Fails The Reform Test
Could be a head fake out of the Great Broomster, but Michelle Rhee says she's not too impressed with the new UFT contract agreement: The camaraderie among the mayor, senior administration officials and UFT leadership was evident at Thursday's big announcement. Praise flew every which way; UFT boss Michael Mulgrew and Chancellor Fariña hugged. What was not so clear was what, exactly, they had agree
UFT Contract - What Will The Rank And File Do?
Most of the bloggers in the New York City education blogosphere have been critical or outright contemptuous of the contract proposal between the UFT and the city that was announced on Thursday.Once it became apparent that no more than 2% compensation would hit the salary step ladder this calendar year if the contract is passed, initial comments on the UFT Facebook page and on the Internet were pre
MAY 03
Municipal Labor Committee Backs UFT Contract Agreement
If anybody out there was hoping opposition from the other unions would put a shiv into the UFT contract agreement announced on Thursday, that hope was dashed yesterday: Leaders of the city's municipal labor unions gave their blessing Friday to a proposed teachers contract imposing $1.3 billion in health care savings, but several unions of cops and firefighters signaled unease with the deal. By a v
Message To Alexander Nazaryan: Teachers Held In Much Higher Esteem Than Journalists
An insult tweet from Newsweek journalist Alexander Nazaryan was sent Arthur Goldstein's way after Arthur jumped into the fray between Nazaryan and Louis C.K. over Common Core:@TeacherArthurG People like you are the reason teaching isn't respected more.— Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) May 3, 2014Nazaryan's been getting beaten up for a few days now after he insulted Louis C.K. for criticizing th
Governor Cuomo's Complicity In Christie Bridgegate Scandal Gets Some Scrutiny
Cuomo already has to worry about Preet Bharara's nosing around in his Moreland Commission wreckage and now there's this:It hasn’t been a great few weeks for New York governor Andrew Cuomo. He got in a public spat with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for closing down an anti-corruption commission, his budget was roundly criticized by many in his own party, and a new poll shows him losing serious ground