The Deal. Now We Stop "Them".

Remember that the reporters who wrote the articles below are paid by the friends and colleagues of Mike Bloomberg and Joel Klein. In my opinion, this is publicity, not reporting.

I'll just say "hello" to Carl Campanile, the most unprofessional reporter that I know! Hi Carl!

Betsy Combier



MIKE, SENATE END CLASS STRUGGLE
By DAVID SEIFMAN and CARL CAMPANILE, NY POST, July 25, 2009 --
LINK

It's a deal: Mayor Bloomberg stays King of the Schools!

Bloomberg and Democratic leaders in the state Senate yesterday announced an agreement to extend City Hall's authority to run the city school system through 2015.

CARROLL: IT'S DEFINITELY A GRADE A MOVE

EDITORIAL: VICTORY FOR THE KIDS

The pact follows weeks of political stalemate, mudslinging and nasty name calling.

Under the agreement, the Senate will pass legislation before the start of the school year that has already been approved by the state Assembly preserving mayoral control, with some additional oversight.

Bloomberg also agreed to four minor amendments to the Assembly bill sought by Democratic senators:

* Creating a parent training center run by CUNY.

* Setting up an arts advisory panel.

* Clarifying the role of superintendents in evaluating principals in their district.

* Requiring schools to hold meetings on school safety.

As a sign of good faith, the mayor and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will move immediately to implement the changes on their own even before they are written into law, a City Hall insider said.

Senators are expected to return to Albany early next month -- before the new school year starts -- to ratify the deal.

"The agreement announced by the Senate Democratic leadership today enables progress in our schools to continue," Bloomberg said.

"It preserves the accountability and authority necessary to ensure that the gains we've made -- in math and reading scores, graduation rates and school safety -- continue.

"At the same time," Bloomberg added, "the agreement addresses concerns that have been raised by legislators in a way that makes sense."

Teachers union president Randi Weingarten said the deal "will preserve the stability and resources" of the school system.

Gov. Paterson said he planned to sign the legislation once it is passed and commended "the parties for coming together to put the education of our children ahead of politics."

Senators insisted the deal was worth the wait.

"We have an agreement with respect to school governance, empowering our parents, our superintendents," Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson (Brooklyn) said following a testy meeting of the Democratic senators at 250 Broadway.

Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Queens), a chief negotiator on school governance, held out for training centers for parents.

"I do feel we achieved some things," she said.

Senators often defended their decision to stall action in the name of parents, saying the city was hindering -- rather than encouraging their involvement -- in schools.

They complained that the parent community education councils had only token input in school affairs.

Bloomberg defended his record by saying he created the position of parent coordinators in each school to help parents and students. But he said principals and teachers -- not parents -- should run the schools.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada (D-Bronx) -- the turncoat who precipitated the leadership crisis in the Senate by defecting to the GOP and then returning to the Democrats -- said, "This is a great moment for us."

Not everyone was pleased.

Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan),(pictured at right) a frequent Bloomberg critic, pushed hard for inclusion of a state commission to issue a report on school safety.


SCHOOL'S OUT: Sen. Bill Perkins gives the thumbs up yesterday after the deal to extend mayoral control, but his push for a school safety report was defeated.
But it wasn't part of the of the deal and Perkins declined to discuss the matter following the meeting.

The agreement is a startling turnaround from just days ago, when Bloomberg blasted state senators by name for leaving Albany without extending mayoral control.

The senators then held two press conferences on the steps of City Hall slamming the mayor as a whiny billionaire who tries to bully people when he doesn't get his way.

Bloomberg and the borough presidents were forced to reconstitute the old, seven-member Board of Education on July 1 after the Senate let the 2002 mayoral-control law lapse.

Hoping for the Senate to finally act, the hastily constituted board temporarily preserved City Hall's grip on the schools by rehiring Klein as chancellor and preserving his authority to manage the schools.

Once the Senate acts, the board will be dissolved and the Panel for Education Policy, controlled by Hizzoner's appointees, will return.

Additional reporting by Brendan Scott in Albany
carl.campanile@nypost.com



IT'S DEFINITELY A GRADE A MOVE
By TOM CARROLL, July 25, 2009 --

IN the end, Mayor Bloomberg got what he wanted.

He remains firmly in control of the city's schools, retains the right to control key decisions, and holds on to the authority to keep Joel Klein as his chancellor.

The bill already approved by the state Assembly will be passed by the Senate before the start of the school year, under the deal announced yesterday. And the additional changes desired by Senate Democrats will be contained in a series of separately passed amendments.

Pursuant to the amendments, parent-training centers will be established, under the auspices of the City University. An arts advisory council will be established, and each school will have a safety committee.

District superintendents will have an enhanced ability to review principals.

Most of this is harmless enough.

Dropped from the proposal were fixed terms for the mayor's appointees to the city Panel for Education Policy.

And, importantly, Bloomberg retained the authority to appoint a majority of the panel's members (eight of 13), which effectively also gives the mayor the authority to appoint the board's chairperson.

For Bloomberg, who has staked his mayoralty on his stewardship of public schools, the final deal was a huge win.

During his tenure, principals have been given greater autonomy over the schools they operate, teacher salaries have risen, the threshold for opting out of the union contract's myriad provisions has been loosened, a transparent system for grading schools has been implemented, sophisticated student tracking data systems put in place, and more resources dedicated to leadership training. As a result, state test scores on math and English have started to rise.

Importantly, the billionaire mayor -- who can't be bought -- has driven politics, cronyism and corruption out of community school districts -- no small accomplishment given the history of the districts.

The plain-spoken chancellor also has brought a welcome measure of honest talk about the school system's remaining weaknesses.

For charter school advocates, Bloomberg and Klein have been stalwart allies. The Bloomberg administration has made the expansion of charter schools a top priority, granting charters access to school facility space and the city's capital plan as well as providing initial authorization to dozens of charter schools.

Klein also has encouraged some of the highest-quality nonprofit charter networks to expand the number of schools they open and children they serve here.

Although Bloomberg has generated a fair amount of controversy within the city on school issues, the school system is viewed across the nation as a model for change. Reforming large urban districts is not easy work, and no district is larger and more unwieldy than the New York City district.

Without mayoral control, none of the progress that has been made would have been possible.(emphasis added - Editor)

One of the keys to reforming a large bureaucracy is sustained, consistent effort. Leaders of urban districts typically get chewed up and spit out every two or three years, because it is not easy to challenge the status quo without offending lots of people.

That a mayor and a chancellor -- with a common vision -- have been able to pursue a consistent reform agenda over eight years in the nation's largest school district is nothing short of remarkable.

With the extension of mayoral control, this partnership hopefully will continue to the benefit of the 1.1 million students enrolled in New York City's public schools.

Thomas W. Carroll is president of the Foundation for Education Reform & Ac countability.

Comments

bbetsy wrote:
Mr. Carroll, it seems that your opinion is based on....what?? Perhaps the payment you may have received to write your ridiculous article above, titled "It's definitely a Grade A move", or some kind of inside information? I have four children, all of whom attend or have attended public schools in NYC, and I can, and do, write and speak about the Bloomberg/Klein disaster. I am also an advocate for children, parents, and teachers, and a witness to the end of due process, the denial of access to service providers and FAPE by children with special needs, the school to prison pipeline for minority children in the poorest districts, grade inflation and lying, cheating and stealing by Principals and Superintendents in collaboration with Assembly members, politicians and people who write articles for the daily newspapers at the request of the Bloomberg staff. Just because I am curious, please give us the basis for your opinion? We think that you are misled and misinformed.
Betsy Combier
7/26/2009 10:23 AM EDT

Mr. A. Talk wrote:
This city has become a test prep mill under the Bloomklein administration. The tests have been dumbed down and the mayor takes the credit for "higher" scores. In the meantime, the city's scores on the national NEAP test have not budged, and SAT scores of all those graduates have likewise stalled. Qualified teachers languish in rubber rooms and excessed educators can't get a job because this mayor doesn't value experience. This costs the city 40 million a year. This mayor is a failure and a power monger. Tell us, Mr. Carroll, are you an educator? Do your children go to school in NYC? If not, what is your stake in this?
7/25/2009 5:05 PM EDT

VICTORY FOR THE KIDS
NYPOST Editorial, July 25, 2009 --
LINK

New York's schoolkids won yesterday. Big-time.

The deal Mayor Bloomberg and Senate Democrats announced will extend mayoral control of city schools for six more years, helping to preserve the gains Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have already made.

We couldn't be happier.

After all, as readers well know, mayoral control has long been a signature issue for this paper.

From the start, we've understood that high-quality public education is possible only when the system is run by someone with sufficient power to make decisions.

Someone who is answerable to voters.

Moreover, we've been impressed by the progress Bloomberg and Klein have made thus far.

As The Post campaign gathered steam, other voices from around the city followed suit. Teachers union chief Randi Weingarten deserves enormous credit for helping push the deal through.

But it hasn't been smooth sailing, to put it mildly. Indeed, the fate of the schools has been in limbo for nearly a month, ever since the '02 law giving control to City Hall expired amid Senate gridlock.

Senators then went home for the summer, ignoring a mayoral-control bill that had already passed the Assembly.

As it is, New Yorkers won't be able to rest until the bill is signed by Gov. Paterson; in Albany, any thing can happen.

To get the deal, Bloomberg had to agree to a few minor amendments, but nothing that seems to undercut his right to run the system. Good for him.

As for the troublesome senators, make no mistake: It was never about the kids.

Those who opposed mayoral control the loudest did so for but one reason: to serve their own personal interests and flex their muscles. Shame on them.

But now, barring any surprises, Bloomberg, Klein & Co. are free to continue their work. This is very good news.

Comments

hmmm...I think your bias is showing too much. Why not simply come out of the closet and say that you work for Mayor Bloomberg and his press office?

Betsy Combier
7/26/2009 1:19 PM EDT

Grandpa wrote:
Now if they can only get the other 40% to stay in school and graduate........
7/25/2009 9:36 AM EDT

Dinerboy wrote:
A REAL victory would be more charter schools, a voucher system, or some other form of school choice. Monopolies tend to be lousy at what they do, and our monopolistic school system will always be a pale shadow of what it could be were there real competition and accountability in place.
7/25/2009 9:11 AM EDT

srr wrote:
Condemned to servitude Mayor Control Freak and Sockpuppet Klein's test taking gulags is hardly a victory for kids.

However it is a big victory for Mayor Control Freak's re election bid.
7/25/2009 7:54 AM EDT

srr wrote:
Exactly how do the kids win with Mayor Control Freak dominating their educational lives? Mayor Control Freak doesn't care if your tykes learn anything--he just wants results that favor him so he could prove he's actually doing something positive for education so he can get re-elected.

So Albany wimped out again. Gee what a surprise.

It's nice to know things are back to normal.
7/25/2009 6:48 AM EDT

Comments sent to City Room

#
Such news is a big yawn to anxious financially strapped parents hoping once their children are admitted to a good private school they have the means to pay the freight.
— MARK KLEIN, M.D.
#
2. August 11, 2009 3:26 pm Link

We put 2 people in charge of our schools that
together they do not have even 1 day of experience
teaching a class. This is a shame. These 2 men
are arrogant dictators handing our U-ratings left and
right. They have shown that they will not hesitate a
second to abuse the powers given to them.
This is a sad day for NYC teachers.
NYC teachers need people to back them up in the
classroom. Not pull off dirty tricks to undermine
their ability to teach.
— dal
#
3. August 11, 2009 3:38 pm Link

UNCONSITUTIONAL!

Governor Paterson did not renew Mayoral Control this morning. His action to “sign” the “bill” passed by the legislature was indeed unconstitutional. No Mayoral Control law has been renewed or enacted as a result. The Senate voted on August 6, 2009 to renew Mayoral Control with amendments. The renewal included a “retroactive” clause to June 30, 2009 since the 2002 law had expired on that date. Even if the amendments were to be voted on separately by the Assembly the inclusion of that “retroactive” clause required a “reconciliation” by the Assembly since the two bill’s were no longer identical. Yet, the amendments were indeed inseparable from the bill “signed” this morning by Governor Paterson. Paterson did not uphold his oath of office to faithfully uphold, follow and execute The New York State Constitution. Having “signed” the document in secret, behind closed doors without any public announcement, is indicative of this unlawful and unconstitutional action.

August 12, 2009

Nicola A. DeMarco, JD
The Coalition for Public Education
718-884-2069
nickdmarco@hotmail.com
— Nicola DeMarco
#
4. August 11, 2009 10:29 pm Link

Six years ago, George Bush signed the “No Child Left Behind” education bill. A compromise between the Bush administration and congressional Democrats like Sen. Edward Kennedy, the bill claimed to attempt to abolish the academic achievement gap between the poor and the middle class, and between African American, Latino and white students. “We are going to win the war overseas,” Bush told a crowd after signing the bill, “and need to win the war against illiteracy at home, as well.”

Today, the U.S. government has spent over $500 billion on a criminal war against the Iraqi people, while the education system is failing. Public schools are being privatized to reap greater profits for owners.

The National Assessment of Education Progress—a body that administers standardized tests to evaluate the country’s progress in education—recently said that the NCLB law has hurt education standards. Reading proficiency for eighth-grade African American students has dropped from 13 to 12 percent. Proficiency dropped from 41 to 39 percent for eighth-grade white students.

Prospects are not much brighter for students who make it to college. In 2007, Congress cut student loan subsidies, as tuition rates continued to skyrocket. Necessary affirmative action programs are under severe attack.

These abysmal results are no surprise to socialists. Under capitalism, quality education for working-class students is not a priority. Education funding is constantly being slashed to fund imperialist war overseas.

While Democratic and Republican candidates pay lip service to education reform, the quality of education for working-class students will continue to deteriorate as long as we live under a system that prioritizes profits over people. The Frances Villar for Mayor (PSL) 2009 campaign calls for free, high quality education for all from pre-school through college.
— Frances Villar
#
5. August 12, 2009 10:06 am Link

I had such high hopes that mayoral control would end. During Bloomberg and Klein’s tenure, our educational system has become yet another corporate enterprise in which manipulated numbers are the only things that count. They have done what others were unable to do so efficiently: how to take public money and redistribute it into private hands. The end product consists of children who are increasingly proficient in testing and little else. These children have little or no exposure to the arts or real critical thinking. School,have very little to do with their communities anymore. Vocational training is at an all-time low.

With principals earning 5-figured merit pay bonuses, testing is all that counts now. Teachers have very little input and are generally demoralized. Parents are virtually shut out of any real decision making.

I’m sure that Bloomberg and Klein want good things for our children, but to expect educational novices to “reform” education by dismantling “failing” schools and creating legions of new “small” schools led by inexperienced “educators” run by corporate Instructional Support Organizations receiving contracts to run our schools is not the way to go.

In what other field can an amateur without accreditation run an agency? Do we see senior law partners with no law degree? Do we see chief residents of hospitals without medical degrees? Only in education can someone come in with no credentials and run the largest system in the country.
— Samuel Noel

Despite Public Outrage Against A Continuation of Mayoral Control, A Deal is Made

The rumor is that a deal has been made by Senator John Sampson and Mayor Mike Bloomberg to re-authorize Mayoral control over the NYC public school system, with the addition of a "parent training institute".

Time to say "NO thanks".

I and teacher Polo Colon are gathering people together who will stand up and oppose Mayoral control, a continuation of no-bid contracts without public input, continuation of the Panel For Educational Policy/"new" Board of Education (whatever you want to call it), Community Education Councils, and centralized power at Tweed.

Please join the new listserv and help us strategize about ending this nightmare!

communitycontrol@yahoogroups.com

Betsy Combier and Polo Colon
Co-Founders,
Coalition For School District Elections

July 25, 2009
Senate Deal Keeps Mayor in Control of Schools
By JENNIFER MEDINA and JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ, NY TIMES



After weeks of delays, negotiating and name-calling, Democrats in the New York Senate reached a deal with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Friday to renew the law giving him control over city schools.

The deal appeared to be a victory for Mayor Bloomberg, who had repeatedly assailed the legislators blocking his agenda in Albany.

The legislation would leave the mayor’s power over the school system intact, while adding some new programs, like a parent training institute and an arts advisory council.

Under the agreement, district superintendents would have more school oversight and each school would be required to hold a meeting with parents to discuss school safety and the behavior of safety officers in the schools.

City officials said they expected the Senate to return to Albany to pass the bill in early August. Senate leaders were more elusive, saying only that they expected to return before the new school year begins in September.

The Legislature transferred management of the city’s schools from the Board of Education to the mayor in 2002, setting June 30, 2009, as the date his control would expire if it was not renewed. The Assembly did so last month.

But a power crisis in the Senate allowed mayoral control to expire, and then several powerful Democrats in the Senate demanded additions to the Assembly bill.

Once the Senate passes the bill, making it law, it will amend it to include the conditions agreed to on Friday. The Assembly would then have to pass the same amendments for them to take effect.

The changes are relatively minor and will do little to temper the mayor’s control. There were no provisions, for example, requiring that the schools chancellor have an education degree, and members of the Panel for Educational Policy, the school oversight board, were not given fixed terms, as Mr. Bloomberg’s harshest critics had sought.

The Department of Education and City Hall officials were careful not to gloat on Friday; they said the changes would not dramatically alter the way the system is run.

Perhaps the biggest change is a provision, already passed by the Assembly, requiring that the Panel for Educational Policy approve all no-bid contracts, as well as any contracts that exceed $1 million. The city will also be required to hold hearings before it shuts down underperforming schools.

The mayor issued a statement saying that the agreement “enables progress in our schools to continue.”

“It preserves the accountability and authority necessary to ensure that the gains we’ve made — in math and reading scores, graduation rates and school safety — continue,” he said.

The agreement will allocate about $3 million to the City University of New York for the next two years to create a parent training center in each of the five boroughs. Officials said there had been no discussions about who would lead the center or how it would work.

Billy Easton, the director of the Campaign for Better Schools, which had pushed for the center, said it would focus on training parents to make school-based leadership teams and community education councils more effective.

The deal came less than a week after Mr. Bloomberg railed against several senators, calling them “meshugeneh” (Yiddish for crazy); in response, Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem accused the mayor of “treating us like we’re some people on his plantation.”

But negotiations between the Senate and City Hall — led by John L. Sampson, the Democratic conference leader, and Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott — continued throughout the week.

Even as final details were being ironed out, several senators gathered at the steps of City Hall on Thursday to criticize the mayor.

Senator Hiram Monserrate called him the “Bernie Madoff” of education and others insisted they would not be bullied into agreement.

Yet the most vociferous critics of Mr. Bloomberg were far more subdued on Friday. Several senators said that while they did not wholeheartedly agree with the deal, they understood that a deal had been reached.

Senator Monserrate, as he was leaving a meeting about the legislation on Friday, said, “The mayor can really be a mensch when he wants to be.”

Deal Reached On Mayoral Control - Only, Parents and Teachers Wont Go Along

Evidently Senators caved in to Bloomberg and gave away the rights of parents and teachers to say anything about the New York City Public Schools.

We are not going to agree. What we want:

We are a group of parents and teachers in New York City (incl. All boroughs, long island, and neighboring states where some teachers live) who are mobilizing behind the following:

1. no Mayoral Control of the New York City public schools in any form;

2. Removal/involuntary resignation of all members of the “new” Board of Education;

3. immediate preparation with public funds for elections of a citywide school board for the district of New York and in ALL districts of all school board members, in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act;

4. legislation returning powers over hiring/firing Principals to the district school boards;

5. hiring district board auditors, attorneys and federal monitors for each district office to establish accountability and pursue due process violations for any constituent in a public school, and any claims of theft or fraud;

6. an immediate end to Parent Coordinators in favor of District Advocates in every district office who will be accountable to the people who live in that district by submitting public logs of each person’s monthly activities, exchanges of money, contracts, etc. This position could be elected, but nonetheless the person who holds the position must be accountable to the public in that district;

7. an end to the Community Education Councils, appointed school board members, and a chancellor who does not have any experience in the New York City public school system;

8. a coordinated campaign against the re-election of any member of the Assembly, Senate, City Council, Public Advocate or Borough President’s office who has put selfish private interests for a third term, eminent domain, patronage, fraud, or other activity above the pursuit and support of integrity, honest services and any action that promotes public trust, safety, and welfare.

Betsy Combier
Co-Founder, Coalition For District Elections
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Sponsor, Citizens’ Forum For Judicial Accountability
Secretary, International Whistleblower Association

Hipolito Colon
Co-Founder, Coalition For District Elections

July 25, 2009
Senate Deal Keeps Mayor in Control of Schools
By JENNIFER MEDINA and JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ, NY TIMES

After weeks of delays, negotiating and name-calling, Democrats in the New York Senate reached a deal with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Friday to renew the law giving him control over city schools.

The deal appeared to be a victory for Mayor Bloomberg, who had repeatedly assailed the legislators blocking his agenda in Albany.

The legislation would leave the mayor’s power over the school system intact, while adding some new programs, like a parent training institute and an arts advisory council.

Under the agreement, district superintendents would have more school oversight and each school would be required to hold a meeting with parents to discuss school safety and the behavior of safety officers in the schools.

City officials said they expected the Senate to return to Albany to pass the bill in early August. Senate leaders were more elusive, saying only that they expected to return before the new school year begins in September.

The Legislature transferred management of the city’s schools from the Board of Education to the mayor in 2002, setting June 30, 2009, as the date his control would expire if it was not renewed. The Assembly did so last month.

But a power crisis in the Senate allowed mayoral control to expire, and then several powerful Democrats in the Senate demanded additions to the Assembly bill.

Once the Senate passes the bill, making it law, it will amend it to include the conditions agreed to on Friday. The Assembly would then have to pass the same amendments for them to take effect.

The changes are relatively minor and will do little to temper the mayor’s control. There were no provisions, for example, requiring that the schools chancellor have an education degree, and members of the Panel for Educational Policy, the school oversight board, were not given fixed terms, as Mr. Bloomberg’s harshest critics had sought.

The Department of Education and City Hall officials were careful not to gloat on Friday; they said the changes would not dramatically alter the way the system is run.

Perhaps the biggest change is a provision, already passed by the Assembly, requiring that the Panel for Educational Policy approve all no-bid contracts, as well as any contracts that exceed $1 million. The city will also be required to hold hearings before it shuts down underperforming schools.

The mayor issued a statement saying that the agreement “enables progress in our schools to continue.”

“It preserves the accountability and authority necessary to ensure that the gains we’ve made — in math and reading scores, graduation rates and school safety — continue,” he said.

The agreement will allocate about $3 million to the City University of New York for the next two years to create a parent training center in each of the five boroughs. Officials said there had been no discussions about who would lead the center or how it would work.

Billy Easton, the director of the Campaign for Better Schools, which had pushed for the center, said it would focus on training parents to make school-based leadership teams and community education councils more effective.

The deal came less than a week after Mr. Bloomberg railed against several senators, calling them “meshugeneh” (Yiddish for crazy); in response, Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem accused the mayor of “treating us like we’re some people on his plantation.”

But negotiations between the Senate and City Hall — led by John L. Sampson, the Democratic conference leader, and Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott — continued throughout the week.

Even as final details were being ironed out, several senators gathered at the steps of City Hall on Thursday to criticize the mayor.

Senator Hiram Monserrate called him the “Bernie Madoff” of education and others insisted they would not be bullied into agreement.

Yet the most vociferous critics of Mr. Bloomberg were far more subdued on Friday. Several senators said that while they did not wholeheartedly agree with the deal, they understood that a deal had been reached.

Senator Monserrate, as he was leaving a meeting about the legislation on Friday, said, “The mayor can really be a mensch when he wants to be.”

Mayor to regain school control
Parents receive help in Senate agreement on New York City schools
By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press, First published: Saturday, July 25, 2009

ALBANY -- State Senate Democrats reached a deal Friday to resolve how New York City schools are governed, renewing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's authority over the school system and ending weeks of bickering.

The deal Bloomberg's camp helped negotiate will create a $1.7 million training center for parents operated by the City University of New York to enable them to participate in the school system, said Bronx Democratic Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. He expects the Senate to return to Albany to vote on renewing the mayoral control law in the next two weeks.

The plan addresses one of the key concerns raised by critics of Bloomberg's control of the schools: Parental involvement.

Throughout the five boroughs, the CUNY-run training center will offer programs to help parents track student performance and learn how to improve the study environment at home. It will also conduct outreach and recruitment with the goal of having the staff diversity mirror the student body at various schools.

Parents and students will also have access to improved English-language learning programs.

The deal came after weeks of bickering between senators and Bloomberg.

Espada said Bloomberg was involved in negotiations and that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was open to taking up amendments to the school governance bill that the Assembly already passed. The deal allows for a review of principals and the quality of curriculum, and creates open public meetings with a focus on public safety in schools.

The 2002 law that gave the mayor authority over the city's schools, has been praised for improving the academic performance of the city's 1.1 million students.

The law expired at the end of June during a Senate power struggle eventually won by Democrats.

More Information Than Anyone Wants, On Joel Irwin Klein

July 30, 2002
THE NEW SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR: MAN IN THE NEWS; A Path Back to School -- Joel Irwin Klein
By ADAM LIPTAK, NY TIMES

New York City's new schools chancellor is not an easy man to shop for. When he stepped down as assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department in 2000, having led the government's prosecution of Microsoft, his senior staff members huddled about a farewell gift.

Though their boss, Joel I. Klein, had spent almost his entire career in Washington, he never gave up a certain directness of manner that many associate with New York City. He is impatient, friends say, with the paraphernalia that surrounds powerful people in both cities.

''It's fair to say that Joel is not a crystal bookends sort of guy,'' said Susan Davies, who was a senior counsel in the antitrust division. ''You don't get him a humidor.''

Mr. Klein had spoken from time to time about his roots in the New York City school system and his gratitude for the education he received there. The aides decided to endow a scholarship for high school seniors interested in public service, at William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City, Mr. Klein's alma mater.

When Mr. Klein was told of the gift at a reception in a conference room at the Justice Department, he was moved to tears.

''It was the only time I ever saw him at a loss,'' Ms. Davies said. ''Momentarily, but at a loss.''

Mr. Klein's feeling for and commitment to the city's public schools may count for a lot, because the fit between his résumé and the task at hand is not entirely obvious.

''Can you be sure that an appellate lawyer and an antitrust lawyer, even with all his skills, can make it running a school system?'' asked A. Douglas Melamed, Mr. Klein's principal deputy and successor at the Justice Department. His tone suggested both personal affection and more than a little uncertainty.

Lloyd Constantine, who once served as New York's top antitrust official, harbored doubts, too. ''I don't think that just because you've been a good astronaut, you'd be a good senator,'' he said.

Mr. Klein became chairman and chief executive of Bertelsmann Inc., the corporate-services arm of the German media giant, in January 2001. His departure, friends said, is unrelated to the ouster over the weekend of Thomas Middelhoff, the parent company's chairman and chief executive. Mr. Middelhoff had recruited Mr. Klein to the company after meeting him at a dinner party at the home of the powerful Washington lawyer Vernon Jordan.

Mr. Klein has told friends that he was restless as a corporate executive and was eager to return to public service.

Joel Irwin Klein was born in New York City on Oct. 25, 1946. His father was a postal worker, his mother a bookkeeper. The family lived in a housing project, a cluster of six-story apartment buildings in Woodside, Queens.

James Rigney, 75, who lives there now, remembered a time when a little friendly discipline kept children off the grass, and he said he hoped Mr. Klein would bring some of that same attitude to his new job.

''The neighbors would grab you and pull you off,'' he said. ''They were concerned about how it would reflect their neighborhood.''

Mr. Klein's parents had high hopes for their son, and they invested that hope in the city's schools. ''They had this vision,'' Mr. Klein said at a news conference yesterday, ''and the schools helped give me the equipment.''

He went on to graduate magna cum laude from Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

During a leave of absence from law school in 1969, Mr. Klein studied at New York University's School of Education and taught math to sixth graders at a public school in Queens.

Mr. Klein served as a law clerk for David L. Bazelon, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr (pictured at right) of the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Klein said he had two key mentors in his life. One was a high school physics teacher, who tried to teach Mr. Klein the theory of relativity. ''I don't want to suggest to you that I learned Einstein's theory of relativity,'' Mr. Klein said, ''but he did take the time to teach me.''

The other was Justice Powell. ''The thing that stood out to me was when Lewis Powell danced with you, he danced with you,'' Mr. Klein said. ''He never looked over your shoulder to see if there was somebody more important, more interesting, or could help him.''

Mr. Klein is married to Nicole Seligman, (above) executive vice president and general counsel of Sony Corporation of America. Ms. Seligman, formerly a partner in the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, represented President Bill Clinton during the impeachment proceedings.

Mr. Klein has a teenage daughter from an earlier marriage. She attended private school in Washington and then boarding school.

Mr. Klein was in private legal practice in Washington for 20 years, focusing on health care, particularly in the area of mental health, and constitutional litigation. He argued 11 cases before the Supreme Court and won 9 of them.

He also taught at Georgetown's law school in that period. One of his students was Michael K. Powell, now chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Mr. Powell recalled that Mr. Klein did not teach an evening seminar in an esoteric subject to third-year students, as most adjunct professors did. ''Joel taught full time, in the day, to first-year students,'' he said. The subject was civil procedure, which many lawyers find mystifying.

''Joel was an extraordinary teacher who had a mastery of complex subjects and the ability to make them simple,'' Mr. Powell said.

Mr. Klein joined the Clinton White House in 1993, early in the administration, replacing Vincent W. Foster Jr. as deputy White House counsel after Mr. Foster committed suicide. He helped prepare Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her confirmation hearing for Supreme Court justice.

He moved to the Justice Department in 1995 and was made the nation's top antitrust official in 1997. During his tenure, the Justice Department announced a number of record-breaking antitrust fines, recouping nearly $2 billion in all, an unparalleled sum for one of the department's smaller divisions.

In 2000, Mr. Klein began criminal antitrust prosecution of more than a dozen food companies accused of rigging bids on contracts for $210 million of frozen food and fresh produce sold to the New York City Board of Education. The companies pleaded guilty or were convicted.

Mr. Klein's tough tone will serve him well, former colleagues say.

''He's a New Yorker,'' Ms. Davies said. ''He knows what he thinks, and he'll say it.''

Indeed, he seems to have captured a stern teacher's vocabulary.

''They were not a bunch of kids doing a prank,'' he told the journalist James Fallows. He was describing the conduct of Microsoft executives.

November 10, 2008
The New Team: Joel I. Klein
By ELISSA GOOTMAN, NY TIMES

As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama is relying on a small team of advisers who will lead his transition operation and help choose the members of a new Obama administration. Following is part of a series of profiles of potential members of the administration.

Name: Joel I. Klein

Being considered for: Education secretary

Would bring to the job: Six years as chancellor of the New York City public school system, the nation’s largest. An increasingly prominent national presence, thanks to forming, with the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Education Equality Project, a coalition seeking to transform public education.

Is linked to Mr. Obama by: Friends and associates, including Caroline Kennedy, a college roommate and close friend of Mr. Klein’s wife, Nicole K. Seligman. One of Mr. Obama’s education advisers, Jon Schnur, is the chief executive of New Leaders for New Schools, a program based in New York that has hired many of Mr. Klein’s former staff members. Mr. Klein knows John D. Podesta, who is leading the Obama transition team, from his Washington days.

In his own words: “Are we making good on the moral vision — and the clear social obligation — set forth in the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education when we tolerate poorly performing public schools?” (From remarks at a forum in January 2004.)

Used to work as: A lawyer in Washington for nearly three decades, and from 1997 to 2001 as the assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department, where he led the prosecution of Microsoft. He spent two years as deputy White House counsel during the Clinton administration and was chairman and chief executive of Bertelsmann Inc.

Carries as baggage: Randi Weingarten, the powerful president of the New York City teachers’ union who is also the president of the national American Federation of Teachers, has had an acrimonious relationship with Mr. Klein.

Résumé includes: Born Oct. 25, 1946, in New York City ... graduated from Columbia University, but his dearest alma mater is William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens ... taught math to sixth graders in Queens.

FIRE Joel Klein

Controller William Thompson Scores a Hit on the NYC Board of Education

City Controller William Thompson lashes out at Education Department
BY Meredith Kolodner, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, Thursday, July 23rd 2009, 4:00 AM
LINK

City test conditions are "ripe for cheating," an audit released Wednesday by city Controller William Thompson's office charged.

For the second day in a row, mayoral candidate Thompson blasted the Education Department for "systematic failure" and "manipulation" of student progress data.

"We did not find new specific instances of cheating," said Thompson, "but we found conditions that were ripe for cheating."

One-third of the monitors assigned to oversee state math and English exams for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders arrived at the testing sites late, the audit found.

There was no documentation that almost half the monitors even showed up.

The report criticized the Education Department's decision to stop tracking test performance irregularities, but city officials said the program was a waste of money.

Audit Report Overview
AUDIT REPORT

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

Download the Complete Audit Report (pdf 1,333 kb)

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) provides primary and secondary education to more than 1 million pre-kindergarten to grade 12 students in over 1,400 schools. DOE prepares students to meet grade level standards in reading, writing, and math and tests students to determine how well they are meeting these mandated learning standards.

Students in grades 3 through 8 take both the New York State standardized English Language Arts (ELA) Test and the New York State standardized Mathematics (Math) Test. This audit focuses on the administration of ELA and Math tests for students in elementary school grades 3, 4, and 5 only. The audit determined whether DOE has adequate internal controls over the administering of New York State standardized tests for grades 3, 4, and 5.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

DOE has adequate internal controls with respect to ensuring that schools are familiar with established procedures when administering the New York State standardized tests at elementary schools. In addition, the schools that we visited generally complied with the State testing guidelines, the DOE Handbook, and testing memoranda. However, DOE lacks sufficient preventive and detective controls aimed at deterring inappropriate manipulation of test scores, which would help to ensure the overall integrity of the assessment process.

DOE has established procedures for the administration of New York State standardized ELA and Math tests at elementary schools. DOE provides a Handbook and distributes test memoranda to its staff in an effort to keep them informed of all required procedures in administering State and Citywide tests. DOE also offers its staff annual training on proper methods in administering the tests as well as training of scoring staff to help identify testing irregularities when grading the long-answer portions of the exam.

We also found that for the most part, the schools that we visited complied with the State guidelines and the guidelines outlined in the Handbook. Our own review of the data and documentation collected by DOE for the 2007–2008 ELA and Math tests and our observations conducted at the sampled schools on the day of testing did not reveal any instances of cheating. However, as more fully explained in the audit report, we cannot be assured that cheating did not occur.

Since achieving a positive school performance rating provides an added incentive for school officials to ensure that students perform well on standardized tests, there is a potential risk for inappropriate test manipulation. Based on our observations, we identified significant weaknesses that DOE has not addressed to help prevent or detect the manipulation of test scores. Specifically, DOE should improve its oversight of testing monitors to ensure that they are carrying out their duties properly and are using monitoring checklists more effectively. In addition, DOE should re-implement the use of analytics to identify possible testing irregularities and tampering and should institute stronger controls over the second and third sections of the tests. Finally, DOE should formalize a process to ensure that substantiated allegations of cheating are shared with the Office of Accountability (OA), the office primarily responsible for coordinating yearly testing and for compliance with New York State Education Department (NYSED) testing guidelines and DOE controls over the tests.

Audit Recommendations

Based on our findings, we make 14 recommendations, 5 of which are listed below.

DOE should:

* Accurately track the assignment of testing monitors to ensure that they are being used effectively.

* Discuss with NYSED the possibility of obtaining the answer keys promptly after the administration of each test to enable DOE to perform a timely erasure analysis. However, DOE should perform erasure analysis to identify possible improprieties regardless of when it receives the answer key.

* Compile, maintain, and track data on the number of make-up exams that are taken for the Day Two and Day Three ELA and Math exams.

* Identify indicators to use in detecting unusual patterns that may be indicative of test tampering or irregularities and collect sufficient data to adequately track those indicators. Based on the information collected, DOE should target those schools with unusual patterns for further follow-up.

* Ensure that the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) formalizes a process to make certain that all instances of substantiated cheating are shared with OA, so that OA can strengthen existing controls or develop new ones in an effort to prevent cheating from occurring in the future.

Agency Response

DOE officials generally agreed with the audit’s recommendations but disagreed with one of them and did not address one of them. They also disagreed with the tone of the report. After carefully reviewing their comments, however, we found them to be without merit.


New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. charges in a new audit that the New York City Department of Education is making excuses for poor controls over testing. Thompson held a news conference on July 22, 2009. Pictured (l to r) are: John Graham, Deputy Comptroller for Audits, Accountancy & Contracts and Thompson. Photo credit: Marla Maritzer.

Education Department press secretary David Cantor said the audit validated the city's reported test scores.

"After spending 18 months and untold city resources looking for cheating and other irregularities in the administration of standardized tests," he said in a statement, "the controller found none."

The report came a day after Thompson called for Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's firing in the wake of the controller's audit that accused the Education Department of inflating high school graduation rates.

Education officials denied the charges, firing back that Thompson's office misunderstood the school data used in the report.

The issue of school reform has moved front and center in the upcoming mayoral race.

mkolodner@nydailynews.com

City Controller William Thompson raises a ruckus over Mayor Bloomberg's pay hikes
BY Brian Kates and Celeste Katz, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS, July 12th 2009, 4:00 AM
LINK

Mayor Bloomberg's decision to dole out millions in raises to his top commissioners and staff proves he just doesn't get what the average New Yorker is going through, rival William Thompson said Saturday.

"I think it's disgraceful. I think it's offensive. And I think it's the wrong thing to do - but it also shows how Mike Bloomberg doesn't understand what's happening in this city," said Thompson, the city controller who's trying to block a third Bloomberg term.

On Friday, the mayor quietly authorized raises worth $69 million over two years for 6,692 of his managers and nonunion employees. The hikes match union workers' raises.

Boosting the pay of already well-compensated managers while New Yorkers scrimp and struggle shows Bloomberg is "out of touch," said Democrat Thompson, who kicked off a citywide campaign push yesterday at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post said the mayor "did the responsible thing" by aligning the raises of supervisors and their subordinates.

"It's revealing that the comptroller is more interested in playing politics than making sure that the city government is functioning smoothly," Post said.

Thompson's criticism meshed with a broad theme of his campaign - that billionaire Bloomberg wants to buy the votes of people whose lives he doesn't comprehend.

He also claims Bloomberg is inflating the number of jobs federal stimulus money will create via a $174.4 million project at Staten Island's St. George Ferry Terminal.

Thompson says Bloomberg's estimate of 4,865 new jobs shows more "puffery" than honesty, although he did not offer an estimate of his own.

Bloomberg aide Marc LaVorgna called Thompson's claim false and said the city is correctly applying federal guidelines in tallying job creation.

He also noted the Obama administration projects that stimulus spending will create 215,000 jobs in the state, and Bloomberg claims 38,000 of those jobs will come here.

"Does that sound out of proportion considering the size and importance of the city?" LaVorgna asked.

ckatz@nydailynews.com

Joel I. Klein Continues to Lie to New York City About Money, Statistics, Everything

Joel Klein is ready to give firm without offices new $95 million DOE contract
Juan Gonzales, Daily News, July 22nd 2009, 9:16 AM
LINK

After cutting the schools budget by $400 million and ordering a hiring freeze, Chancellor Joel Klein is on the verge of handing a new $95 million contract to a little-known Florida computer firm.

Future Technology Associates has enjoyed a no-bid DOE contract since its founding in 2005 to integrate the school system's financial software with those of other city agencies.

City records show the previous contract, along with several extensions, has nearly doubled in cost - to more than $40 million from an original $22 million.

Under the latest extension, which expires next month, 13 FTA consultants are being paid an average compensation of nearly $190,000 annually by the DOE.

Company President Tamer Sevintuna, for example, receives $306,000 as "senior manager." Three other FTA "managers," John Krohe, Derek Wong and Nilo Natural, each get $245,000.

With that much money flowing, you'd think the firm could afford a real office.

It appears to have none.

Sevintuna officially lists corporate headquarters as 9378 Arlington Expressway, Jacksonville, Fla., Suite 305. A Daily News check of that address revealed it to be only a rented post office box.

He also lists a Brooklyn address for the firm, 41 Schermerhorn St., Suite 275. A visit there showed it to be a small residential building - with no sign of any Future Technology Associates.

FTA's employees do all their computer work out of DOE facilities.

Sevintuna declined to discuss his firm or what it does for the school system.

"Talk to the Board of Education," he said before hanging up.

Late last year, the DOE put out a request for proposals for a new five-year contract to carry on the computer integration work FTA has been doing. This occurred after Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum blasted a DOE plan to simply hand the firm a new $38 million no-bid contract.

This, of course, is nothing new under Klein and Mayor Bloomberg. Both state Controller Tom DiNapoli and city Controller William Thompson have issued scathing reports in recent months about DOE's mushrooming use of no-bid contracts and the runaway costs that often result.

DiNapoli's report, released in May, found that the DOE awarded 291 no-bid contracts between July 2005 and June 2008 for more than $340 million and in most cases "failed to properly document" the reason why.

One of the great dangers of mayoral control of the schools, Klein's critics say, is that the chancellor gets to hand out whatever contracts he wants and pays only lip service to the age-old governmental practice of competitive bidding.

On the surface, the proposed new contract did go through a competitive process, with the bids due in February. Sources in the DOE's technology division said the bid requirements appeared to be tailored for FTA, and no one was surprised when the firm emerged as the apparent winner.

FTA's price came in at $95 million, the sources said.

DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyers denied a final price has been reached, but refused to say any more.

"We are still in negotiations and accordingly will not discuss specifics," Meyers said.

"Everyone is shocked that they're paying these outside consultants so much money for work that DOE's own people could be doing," one source said.

Once DOE officially announces the winner of the computer mega-contract in the next few days, the lucky firm will presumably hire a slew of new six-figure consultants to do the work.

Not a single one of those new hires will appear in any record of the DOE as an employee. Klein will continue to tell us there is a financial crisis and a hiring freeze, and the school system must tighten its belt.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

Salaries of Future Technology Associates

From Betsy Combier: I love the articles below. Joel Klein gives what seems to be his opinion on building new public schools in Brooklyn, 2008, to handle overcrowding (Klein: no need for this); he supports charter schools because kids perform better in these schools; he praised the new pre-k admissions process (that left thousands of kids without seats for Sept. 2009); etc., etc.


June 18, 2008
Chancellor Joel Klein Discusses Brooklyn Schools
LINK

While the city's Department of Education continues to grapple with crisis-level graduation and proficiency rates, Chancellor Joel Klein is finding himself saddled with another problem: growing demand. Thousands of apartments are being added to Brooklyn and more parents are deciding to raise their children here — a positive quality of life indicator, but one that causes overcrowding at schools like P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights. Klein told us in an interview that he would add two trailer classrooms to P.S. 8 and "reduce the number of students attending the school from out of the school zone." He also said no new schools, including the middle school DUMBO parents have been asking for, are planned for that district because they aren't needed. "District 13 overall is enrolled below the total district-wide capacity, even taking into account additional planned residential units," he said. In November, the department will reveal its next five-year plan. "We plan to look at the potential need for school construction based on demographic patterns within districts ...Additionally, we will pursue partnerships with developers outside of the Capital Plan to build new schools where it makes geographic, financial, and programmatic sense."

On the controversy surrounding Pre-K admissions, he said overall the system has been "a real improvement over the days when parents had to camp outside schools to have a chance at a seat." Nevertheless, he said the process would be improved.

In other areas of Brooklyn like Bed-Stuy and Bushwick, charter schools are giving their district counterparts a run for their money, beating them in competency exams by wide margins. Klein said this is a good thing "because a charter school reaching 100 percent student proficiency in math or English with a challenging population of students forces other educators across the City to acknowledge that outstanding results are achievable." He goes into detail about why he thinks students are performing better at these schools. And finally, Klein busted out some math on potential budget cuts, including a link detailing the potential cut for each city school. Brooklyn Tech could lose the most money citywide — $1.08 million or 4.5 percent of its total budget. Other Brooklyn schools that could receive among the highest percent cut are P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights, P.S. 282 in Park Slope and the Urban Assembly academies. The city wants to spread cuts across schools equally, but can't because of state rules that favor the lowest-performing schools.

Brownstoner: The city's new Pre-K enrollment system has been hotly criticized. Parents are upset they now send their application out of state, whereas before they enrolled at the school, and are now finding siblings are separated and their children are being sent to programs far from their district. Did you know these things would happen when you changed the enrollment system?

Chancellor Klein: Because this was a new process two things were inevitable: we made some mistakes and many parents were anxious about the changes. I understand that sending your four-year-old to school is anxiety-producing to begin with. But I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that we made important improvements for the parents of four-year-olds. For the first time, parents enrolling their children in pre-K programs were given information about all the programs available to them and could rank their choices on their applications. And we placed children based on a clear set of priorities. This is a real improvement over the days when parents had to camp outside schools to have a chance at a seat.

We received complaints, though far fewer than one would guess from reading the papers or blogs. Some of the alleged mistakes weren’t actually mistakes: siblings were given the highest priority, for instance, but some pre-K programs were so popular that there were more sibling applicants than available seats. We reviewed thousands of applications by hand and identified about 120 cases where a child wasn’t assigned to the appropriate school. We corrected each of these mistakes.

I should add that while we used a New York City-based vendor (with out-of-state offices) to perform bulk mailing and data entry, all of the matching and placement work was done by our enrollment office. We do not have the ability to process thousands of applications in-house; like other city agencies, we contract with vendors to perform basic services.

Do you think separating Pre-K students from their siblings or sending them to programs farther from their district has an effect on the child's education? Are you considering any new changes to the system?

To be clear, of 20,000 applicants 17,000 were placed in pre-K programs and 15,000 received their first choice. We made errors, and corrected them, on about 120 of 20,000 applications. Any parent who didn't get a placement can enter the second round starting June 23.

We will definitely work to improve the pre-K process.

Parents are complaining the system gives them a lack of control in their child's education. Coupled with their complaints about the poor quality of certain schools and the lottery system, are you concerned they will be turned off to the public education system, and ultimately the city? How would you respond to those concerns?

We want parents to be as involved in the education of their children as possible. And we’re making this happen. We put a parent coordinator in every school to assist parents in resolving school issues. We created a new Family Engagement Office to help with problems that can’t be resolved in the school, to reinvigorate the voices of parents on school leadership teams, and to support organized parent bodies in addressing larger district and system-wide issues. We are reaching out to immigrant families in their own language through Native Language Forums across the city.

When I visit schools or attend public meetings where a lot of your readership lives, in Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, or Fort Greene, parents tell me how improved the schools have become in recent years. Obviously there’s frustration as well and many of our schools aren’t close to where they should be. But what I’m hearing is that more parents than ever believe that public schools offer viable choices for their children.

Currently there are thousands of new or under construction residential units in District 13, which includes Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO and Fort Greene. Yet there are no new public schools planned. How will the department handle this growth?

The current Five-Year Capital Plan, which allocates funding for school construction projects, does not currently include new building construction in district 13 because district 13 overall is enrolled below the total district-wide capacity, even taking into account additional planned residential units. That said, there are some individual district 13 schools whose enrollment is over capacity. In the next Five-Year Plan, which we will put out in November and which begins in July 2009, we plan to look at the potential need for school construction based on demographic patterns within districts and the accessibility of existing schools. This will be a first: we haven’t previously drilled down below the district level. Additionally, we will pursue partnerships with developers outside of the Capital Plan to build new schools where it makes geographic, financial, and programmatic sense. For example, the Beekman School in Lower Manhattan is being built in conjunction with a residential project by Forest City Ratner.

Clarification: Would students at below capacity schools have the option of attending these new schools built within their district, or would districts be somehow further delineated?

The capacity of a student’s current school is not relevant to whether that student is accepted into a school that he or she is eligible for.

Could you give examples of potential partnerships with developers in Brooklyn ? What about Two Trees’ Dock Street project in DUMBO?

We don’t name our partners, in Brooklyn or elsewhere in the city, before we reach agreements.

How long, from planning to enrollment, does it take to complete a new school? Should we get a start on these new schools now, before all the families move in, or wait?

It takes about 18-24 months to build a new school, depending on the scope of work; this doesn’t include identifying a site and designing the building. The timing for construction is established by criteria in the Capital Plan. We don’t “wait” to build until schools are overcrowded, at any rate.

Despite the schools in District 13 operating at 66 percent capacity, parents are complaining the middle school in particular is of poor quality, and are asking that a new one be built. How will you address their concerns?

We recognize that in the current Capital Plan the way we look at overcrowding on a district-wide level may not take into account pockets of overcrowding in certain neighborhoods. In the next Capital Plan, we will take a look more closely at these pockets of overcrowding. A draft of the next plan is scheduled for publication in November.

Opening new schools has been an extremely effective form of improving a neighborhood’s school options. Each year, we accept proposals typically submitted by a range of educators, community members, community non-profit organizations, and other education stakeholders who are interested in opening a new public school, usually in a specific neighborhood.

With so much of the land spoken for in these communities, what types of property does the department envision using for new schools once it's determined they're needed? Why isn’t the city taking this opportunity to claim space in some of the many new buildings under construction, especially if it's being offered, like in DUMBO's Dock Street project?

We do look for alternative ways to build schools because of the challenges around finding appropriate sites for new school construction. For instance, we revived a 1969 initiative created by the State Legislature called the Educational Construction Fund, which allows the DOE to lease property to a developer in exchange for building a new school on the property.

At P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights, there are trailers out in the parking lot, enabling the school to keep its Pre-K program, but the elementary portion of the school is still overcrowded. What’s going to happen as that school continues to grow?

There aren’t any trailers at P.S. 8 this year. However, in order to maintain the school’s pre-K program and accommodate growing enrollment, the school will have two trailers containing portable classrooms next school year. We are working with the school to reduce the number of students attending the school from out of the school zone. As always, we will continue to track growth so that we can address the school’s facility needs.

There are also no new schools planned to serve the district that includes Boerum Hill and Gowanus, where 1,000 units are under construction and 700 are in advanced planning. How does the department intend to handle this growth?

Projections for residential buildings around the downtown Brooklyn area, as elsewhere in the city, anticipate fewer than one child per unit, and our current Capital Plan addresses this growth. As new development occurs, we will re-assess and, if need be, update our new school seat projections.

Many charter schools outperform their local districts on standardized tests by wide margins - Brooklyn Excelsior in Bushwick and Excellence Charter School for Boys in Bed-Stuy by between 15 and 48 percent last year, depending on the tests. Why do you think this is?

Charter schools must meet the same performance standards established for all public schools as well as the goals in their charter. If they don’t, they can be put on probation or shut down. Additionally, families enroll their children in charter schools entirely by choice — in other words, students are never “zoned” to attend a charter school. This means that charter schools must compete with other schools for students and must educate students well in order to continue operating. Charter schools - like Excelsior and Excellence in Brooklyn, and many others across the City - are pushing the boundaries of what students can achieve in public school. I believe that charter schools are good for the entire system because a charter school reaching 100 percent student proficiency in math or English with a challenging population of students forces other educators across the City to acknowledge that outstanding results are achievable.

Has the department studied why these schools are performing higher than their district counterparts? If so, what are the findings so far? And is the department implementing any similar solutions?

An informative report about New York City public charter schools was published last year. One significant finding published in the report is that charter school students benefit because charter schools can be flexible in the amount of time that students spend in school. It is intuitive that students who spend more time in school, learn more at school. Working with the United Federation of Teachers ⎯ the NYC teachers’ union ⎯ we increased the school week by 150 minutes in 2006, adding an extended session to the school day. We have also worked with the UFT to create salary differentials based on factors other than seniority, which is historically the only measure taken into consideration when determining teacher salary in district schools. We can now reward teachers who agree to work in our highest need schools and who reach achievement goals with students at these schools. Specifically, we offer teachers a housing stipend of $15,000 if they agree to come to work in New York City schools from another district. We also created a lead teacher position that is remunerated an additional $10,000 annually for experienced teachers who work in high-need schools and mentor their colleagues. Most recently, more than 200 high-need schools agreed to participate in a school-wide performance bonus program, which will reward teachers in schools that meet student achievement goals.

Charter schools are able to make their own decisions around things like the amount of time students spend in school and how teachers are compensated because charter schools operate outside of many rules that district schools are subject to ⎯ including Chancellor’s regulations and labor contracts. In exchange for the ability to manage more freely, charter schools are held rigorously accountable. As I described earlier, charter schools are closed down if their students are not learning. The principle of accountability is at the center of our public school reforms: school leaders must be held accountable for the results they achieve; in order to hold them accountable, they must be empowered to make the critical decisions that affect the school. You can read more about the Children First reforms here.

Which Brooklyn schools would be most affected by the proposed $400 million budget cut? What programs should be cut?

Before getting into specifics about schools, I want to give a little background about the overall education budget for next year. For Fiscal Year 2009 (which applies to the 2008-09 school year), the Department of Education will receive a $664 million budget increase over FY08. This includes $535 million in new state aid and $129 million in new city aid. Unfortunately, we also anticipate $963 million in new expenses, due to increased costs of labor, energy, food, and special education services, among others. This leaves us with a net shortfall of $299 million in school funding.

After careful review, we were able to achieve $200 million in savings from non-school budgets, leaving $99 million remaining to be trimmed from school budgets, but due to restrictions from Albany that burden cannot be shared equitably among schools. The State has provided $242 million in funding under the "Contracts for Excellence," and requires that roughly 75 percent of those funds be spent in only 50 percent of our high-need, low-performing schools. If these restrictions remain intact, some schools will face up to a 6 percent reduction in purchasing power, while others may see their budgets grow by as much as 4 percent. We are asking Albany to give us flexibility over how we can spend $63 million out of that $242 million; if it agrees, the budget cuts will be shared equitably by all schools, with each facing a manageable ⎯ though unpleasant ⎯ 1.4 percent reduction in purchasing power. Pending the outcome of our appeal, we have withheld disbursement of those $63 million in funds.

In mid-May, the DOE released preliminary school budgets. A spreadsheet detailing the impact of those cuts for every school is posted here (see clarification). If the state grants flexibility over the $63 million in withheld funds, schools currently showing budget cuts larger than 1.4 percent will see those cuts reduced to 1.4 percent. If the State denies our request, schools currently showing a 1.4 percent budget reduction will see their budgets grow.

As always, principals make decisions about their budgets in consultation with parents and teachers on their School Leadership Teams. The DOE will provide support and guidance as needed to help principals identify strategic solutions that minimize the impact of cuts on students and classroom learning.

Clarification: City schools collectively face a $99 million budget cut. The state restricts how a portion of its money can be spent to favor the lowest performing schools, so higher performing schools, like Brooklyn Tech, face an even greater budget cut, sometimes up to 6 percent, while the lowest-performing schools would see an overall increase of up to 4 percent. The city is asking for flexibility so each school would have an equal, 1.4 percent cut. That request is currently pending in Albany. The spreadsheet reflects each school's cut without flexibility, except the schools marked with a 1.4 percent cut ⎯ those schools are the ones favored by the state's formula, and could see a budget increase of up to 4 percent.
Giorgio Armani, Caroline Kennedy, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education Joel Klein arrive for the opening of the new Armani 5th Avenue store on February 17, 2009 in New York City.

June 5, 2008
School Admissions Changes Causing 'Chaos'
LINK

This year the Department of Education changed its admissions process for pre-K'ers, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, and the shift means a lot of parents are grappling with the fact that their kids have been placed in schools far from home. About 3,000 parents, "including those in large swaths of Brownstone Brooklyn," recently found out their kids didn't get into any of the schools they'd put down on application forms. Yesterday Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Councilman Bill de Blasio held a press conference to decry the new pre-K placement system, and Gotbaum said the changes "have had some chaotic consequences for parents." The new admissions process is apparently affecting older kids, too. Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn has been writing about how her child didn't get in to any middle schools, apparently because of a DOE computer glitch. The blogger is describing the experience as traumatic: "And then [my daughter] heard me talking on the phone to the New York Times. She doesn't know who I was talking to but she can tell that I am agitated, annoyed, on edge, shakey, not happy and so on."

Pre-K Snafu Leads Brooklyn Parents To Protest at Tweed [Brooklyn Eagle]
Middle School SNAFU: My Daughter Isn't On The List [OTBKB]

Brooklyn Heights school's gone from underused to overcrowded
BY RACHEL MONAHAN, DAILY NEWS WRITER, April 17th 2008, 4:00 AM
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Brooklyn Heights might seem like an unlikely place to find trailers, but students at the neighborhood's increasingly popular public school will attend classes in two next fall.

"The school has been a victim of its own success," said Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights).

Department of Education officials told Public School 8 parents this week that portable classrooms would have to be put in the parking lot so prekindergarten classes can be offered in the fall.

The need for additional classrooms at PS 8 was quite a change from just five years ago, when scarcely any neighborhood children attended the school.

A full-fledged effort to improve the school began in spring 2003, and enrollment has since increased by 91%.

"It's a Cinderella story school," said Joanne Singleton, PTA co-president.

Former Superintendent Carmine Farina, who helped turn the school around, said all she had to do was find the right principal: Seth Phillips.

"I feel a personal connection to all schools," she said. "To me, every school should be good enough for my grandson" - who is in fact zoned for the school but is still too young to attend.

But the trailers sparked anger among some parents.

"I was one of the first families to take a chance on this school," said Melissa Milgrom, mother of two PS 8 students. "Others followed. ... This is an awful reward."

Many seemed ready for the compromise, setting their sights on the more long-term project to get a permanent annex for the school or even expand it into a middle school.

"Of course, we have to keep pre-K," said Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association. "Of course, we're not happy with transportable units."

School officials have twice looked at a former NYPD building at 72 Poplar St., around the corner - once as recently as last week - said Yassky, who has been working to expand PS 8 into a middle school.

"That seemed to be the most promising option," said Nancy Webster, a PS 8 parent on Yassky's task force.

Department of Education officials, however, dismissed ideas they were looking to expand the school.

Sunday Protest of Mayor Bloomberg's Temper Tantrum

Ten New York senators, including Eric Adams, center, and Hiram Monserrate, left, demanded concessions from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg over the bill that would extend his lapsed control of the school system.

July 20, 2009
Democrats Lash Out at Mayor Over Control of Public Schools
By A. G. SULZBERGER

The mayor wanted members of the State Senate to be dragged back to Albany. Instead, nearly a dozen of them showed up on the front steps of City Hall on Sunday.

In the increasingly acrimonious battle over mayoral control of New York City’s public schools, 10 senators, all of them Democrats, held an hourlong news conference, ostensibly to demand that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg make some concessions before they consider extending his control.

All of the senators spoke, and they proclaimed the issue too important to be sidetracked by political rhetoric. Then some proceeded to vilify the mayor, calling him everything from a dictator to a yenta to a plantation owner.

“The days of being intimidated are over,” said Senator Eric Adams of Brooklyn. “We will not surrender our children, and he needs to understand that.”

The war of words escalated as the mayor and Senate leaders settled into an impasse over extending Mr. Bloomberg’s lapsed control of the school system. On Friday, Senate leaders shelved the legislation as they adjourned for the summer — violating their pledge to bring the matter to a vote — citing the mayor’s refusal to submit to any changes to the bill.



During his weekly radio show on Friday, Mr. Bloomberg questioned the intelligence of some of the senators who wanted to scale back mayoral control — including John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, (picture above) the Democratic conference leader — and called for the State Police to “drag” senators to the Capitol for a vote. Dipping into his Yiddish dictionary, the mayor added that taking the summer off without extending mayoral control would be “meshugenah.”

Several of the senators present on Sunday — including Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate, whose defection from and return to the Democratic caucus bookended the monthlong power struggle that paralyzed state government — cited those remarks during their rebuttal.

“We believe it would be meshugenah not to include parents in the education of our children,” said Mr. Monserrate, of Queens. “As opposed to loosely using the word ‘meshugenah,’ we would also say we don’t need a yenta on the other side of this argument and this debate.”

Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, chided the senators for failing to honor their promise to bring the matter to a vote last week. “We’re at an impasse because a handful of state senators would rather return to an old school board system well known for being better at handing out patronage than educating our city’s kids,” he said in an e-mail message.

At the heart of the conflict is the question of how the city’s school system, with its 1,500 schools and 1.1 million children, should be run. Mr. Bloomberg took control from the fractious Board of Education in 2002, a move he maintains gave him the authority to make the changes that have improved test scores and graduation rates.

That oversight officially expired on June 30, though control of the schools effectively remains with the mayor, as officials and allies of his administration make up a majority of the reconstituted Board of Education and they voted to retain his schools chief, Joel I. Klein. [See also "Fire Joel Klein"]

The Senate Democrats who gathered on Sunday complained that mayoral control gave far too much power to Mr. Bloomberg, and they questioned his claims of improvements, which they said were a result of massaging statistics and focusing on teaching to standardized tests. The senators said they wanted changes that would allow for increased parental involvement, establishing a commission to study school security and implementing more checks to the mayor’s authority.



On Sunday, Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem (pictured above) accused the mayor of “treating us like we’re some people on his plantation.”

In a telephone interview, Senator Martin J. Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, called for the Democratic leadership to put the issue to a vote. “It’s amazing that they’re looking for civil discourse and they’re using words like ‘plantation,’ ” he said. “This is all about embarrassing the mayor.”

Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.