Albany To Cut Bloomberg's Power Over NYC Schools

If there is one true thing about Michael Bloomberg, it is that he loves power. The "media mogul billionaire" status wasn't enough, so he ran for Mayor. Then as Mayor he helped enact mayoral control in his first term so that parents no longer had a say in the educational system they sent their children into. Towards the end of his second term he maneuvered so that he could run for a third term despite voter-approved term limits. While he's busy getting his re-election campaign started, he has his chief educational minion, Joel Klein, up in Albany so that he can continue to control the city's school system. There's just one little problem, everyone else is sick of mayoral control, including the State Legislature that has ultimate control over the program.

From The NY Daily News:

ALBANY - Several state lawmakers warned Tuesday they intend to soften mayoral control over the schools - and urged Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein to get on board.

"If you come in here and continue to say to us that the system is perfect - leave it that way, you're going to be very unhappy," Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) told Klein at a Senate Education Committee hearing.

Lawmakers seemed most focused on getting more parental involvement on the chief policy-making board, which the mayor now controls, as well as more independent monitoring of the Department of Education.

"Mayoral control has been a disaster," Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) told Klein.

It isn't just the Senate that thinks that way, the view is held by teachers and parents alike. Despite the half-truths and outright lies perpetrated by Klein and Bloomberg, our city's schools are suffering under mayoral control and the Mayor's opposition has been busy busting the myths that city advertises on the subways below ground and the press conferences held up above. Now that the Senate is done with the M.T.A. (for the time being) they are ready to address mayoral control and chances are, they'll be listening more to the parents than Chancellor Klein.

Grading System Leads To Academic Disqualification For Six NYC Schools

Honestly I did not know too much about the whole grading system Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein at first. After doing some petitioning work over the weekend, I ran into a woman that made her own pitch to me about a site called Timeout from Testing, a group that opposes this system. After scrawling my name with a pen on her hand, she was determined that I sign the petition on the website. Once I read their viewpoint, it wasn't hard for me to endorse their stance.

Basically, they would rather reform and improve our city's school system rather than Klein's plan of closing the ones that aren't performing to their standards. It turns out, Klein wasn't issuing an empty threat, since six schools were marked for closure today. Parents were shocked and will now have to find their children new schools to continue their education.

Klein says its about giving the community options, but this is more of a mandatory decree than an independent choice. You would think that if a parent saw their child in a school that wasn't up to their standards, then they would petition to have their child transferred. Now that would be a choice.

The community that Klein talks about is speaking up for itself. Ordinary citizens and politicians alike are unhappy with this new policy and are fighting to undo this bureaucratic nuttiness. If you agree, sign their petition here.

Joel Klein On Colbert Tonight!

Get your TiVOs ready..or just sit down and watch the Colbert Report tonight old-fashioned style. Though I might just wait until it hits the Comedy Central website tonight. Why am I even more excited to watch Stephen tonight you may wonder? Well I'll tell you. NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein is the special guest on the program.

The interview will give Joel a nice new forum to try and discuss the problems in urban education in this country....and more importantly what we can do about it. Joel isn't known to be the funniest guy around, so maybe appearing in cartoon format might help. Just throwing out a suggestion, ya know?

More Balanced Funding For NYC Schools

A brand new system of allocating New York City's public education dollars was introduced by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein today. The per-pupil system streamlines an older complicated method that over-funded some schools and left others short-changed. Thanks to a billion dollar boost in the budget provided for by Albany, the transition should be a smooth one.

From The New York Times:

The new budget system, a core component of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s effort to revamp the nation’s largest school system, ties $5.3 billion of the city’s $16.9 billion schools budget to individual students, allotting a fixed amount per child and extra dollars based on particular needs.

It directs relatively more new spending to middle and elementary schools and less to high schools. The city, however, is using an overall $1 billion increase in education spending by the state, city and federal governments to ensure that no school loses money next year, absent a drop in enrollment or other factors like the loss of federal grants.

“Because we are committed to success for all students,” Mr. Klein said at a news conference yesterday at his office, “we are sending new funds to students who have the greatest needs, such as middle schoolers, students who are scoring at the lowest levels on math and English exams, English-language learners and special education students.”

The new system will have its share of critics complaining of a whole assortment of issues. Yet Klein and the other architect of the plan, Robert Gordon have been preparing for them. The weighted system gives the most to middle school students and helps out more for students needing bilingual education. The schools that have been more well-off will not feel a pinch yet, as Bloomberg has given them a two year leeway.

The public is also invited to take a look at the minutia on their website. I am glad to see that the city's school system is being reformed in such a way. Being open, accountable and providing for a more balanced system is what all school districts should be aspiring for.