Bloomberg Has His Day: PEP Votes On Closing 24 Schools

The shocking videos of the April 26, 2012 Panel For Educational Policy posted on Norm Scott's blog tell it all: the agenda of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the 'new' public school advocate: charterize, marginalize, remove. There is nothing positive about this ridiculous, destructive panel and vote, and I ask:
Where is the UFT?
What does it say to the world where the so-called "school board" has guards and barriers between the panel members and the constituents they are supposed to represent?

There is something terribly wrong with this.

But Mayor Mike told us all of this in 2003, when Corporate Counsel Michael Cardozo handed out to activists, including me, the manifesto of the Bloomberg regime, which I post here once again from my website article posted in 2007: 
Editorial: The New York City Department of Education is a Sham and Mike Bloomberg is the Flim-Flam Man:

Michael Cardozo's introduction to his submission which removes the constitutional rights of NYC citizens
Pages index -11
Pages 12-25
Pages 26-41
Pages 42-58
Pages 59-80 

I sent my opposition to all the borough Presidents, members of the Assembly and Senate. No one listened. I do not intend on supporting or voting for anyone on City Council, in the Assembly, Senate education committees, or any other public office during the past nine years. Think about it.

Here are the GEM videos on the PEP puppets:

PEP in December, 2011

Videos of Pep 4/26/12 on the closure of 24 schools

LINK

Here is some video from Thursday's PEP where 24 more schools
were closed.
I did not stay for the school co-location vote as it was quite late
by the time the puppets voted to close all 24 schools with no
consideration to the public outcry.

This video was made on behalf of GEM (Grassroots Education Movement). 
Apologies for any errors or mis-spellings. They are in reverse order of the 
evening's proceedings.

Pat Dobosz

I was out of town so I missed it. Thanks to Pat for doing all this work.

20120426103725 PEP 4/26/12

Role call vote on the resolution by Dmytro Fedkowskyj. Votes on the 24 
school closures: 

puppets and heroes

20120426093128 PEP 4/26/12

Manhattan representative to the PEP, Mark Sternberg and Shael Polakow-Suransky

20120426090516 PEP 4/26/12

Queens representative on the PEP, Dmytro Fedkowskyj speaks about his 
resolution and asks questions of Mark Sternberg, DOE Deputy Chancellor 
Division of Operations

20120426090205 PEP 4/26/12

Queens representative to the PEP , Dmytro Fedkowskyj: Presents a resolution 
to withdraw the proposals for turnaround/closure and place a moratorium on 
the transformation model.

20120426084623 PEP 4/26/12

A member on the Citywide Council for High Schools: The discussion needs to 
be on how we are going to support our schools...not on how we are going to 
close them.

[20120426083240 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrJkWJHmYk
CPE (Coalition for Public Education) member, Akinlabi McCall calls for a People's 
Board of Education.

[20120426073202 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBkXSOMLl5Q

Parent of an Automotive High School student speaking against the closure of 
the school

[20120426070528 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxY1T68MguY

Student on behalf of Student Activists United: We're the 13%. Watch the DOE 
goon standing over her.

[20120426064949 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGJj6IDs8Y
City Council Member, Leticia James speaks against the co-location of a fifth 
school at the 117 K campus.

[20120426064244 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDoodFnkJVE
Assemblywoman, Catherine Nolan: ...a shortsighted and damaging process...

[20120426064014 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pRri-nVAt0
CEC 3 member, Noah Gotbaum: The whole process is a lie.

[20120426063803 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UtWROE-KI8

Graduate of Newtown High School: You're decreasing the moral of the students.

[20120426063234 PEP 4/28/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qt3xDw-EjE
UFT Vice President, Leo Casey: This process is a sham. It's illegitimate and it 
has no honor.

[20120426063003 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtt9nE5CjJU
FDR High School Teacher, Meghan Behrent: It is the Departmenrt of Education 
that is failing...Panel...perpetuating crimes against children on a daily basis...

[20120426062608 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3K_Bpy04DE
Lehman HS Teacher:It is unfortunate that there are only four reasonable people on 
that panel right now...

[20120426062353 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCp2B8R68Ng
Graduate of Automotive High School and retired NYC worker: You can't and have 
not given the administration of these schools the backing they need.

[20120426061103 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkagV_xmxRc
Margerie Stamberg: We need to organize by understanding who the enemy is...

[20120426061034 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIXCnbbnTz0
We are prepping a new generation to be a lost generation.

[20120426055929 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA0V-LeaL9w
CEC 14 member, Elaine Manatu: I'm here on the victimization of the kids from 
MS 126 and on the closure of Automotive HS.

[20120426055653 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnBR1yu-iNI
IS 166 Gershwin closure and the SES program starting late

[20120426055147 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4Y1yXStQE
Paola De Kock, President of the Citywide Council of High Schools: ...shows how 
arbitrary and downright cruel the turnaround plan is...there is no plan, there 
is a model.

[20120426054918 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tey0-6wuD38
President of CDEC 3: Opposes the co-location of Harlem Success Charter School 
at PS 149 andthe mistreatment of special needs children by Harlem Success.

[20120426054718 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH1WpH9CAnw
CDEC 30 Representative: Nowhere in the Federal turnaround model is closure 
mentioned.

[20120426054421 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTVufJk4EjQ
CEC member/Parent speaks about how there is no proof that the turnaround 
model works.

[20120426054143 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYN2zynMclA
Representative for NY State Senator Shirley Huntley: Speaks about how the 
principal at August Martin High School was mis-treated and how education at the 
school was interrupted.-

[20120426053618 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOGg8L-uDW0
Councilman Jumaane Williams: Many of you are just doing his (the Mayor's) bidding...
I don't know how you sleep at night.

[20120426053323 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHS868nTzco
The community has not been engaged about the proposal to move The Renaissance 
School from M99 to PS 155.

[20120426052912 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSaDnERf04g
Queens elected official and parent: Calls on the PEP to save the other 24 schools. 
We cannot afford to turn our backs now...you will be using a form of union busting.

[20120426052559 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYZPlqVC5U
Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz: Stop demonizing our teachers and 
public educators.

[20120426050427 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPHjya9l_NI
Schools not jails! The puppets are introduced.

[20120426050028 PEP 4/26/12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNy3hH1O-A

Whose schools? Our schools!