Mulgrew accuses Bloomberg of sitting on a $3 billion surplus that could be used to prevent teacher layoffs. The mayor's aides blast the union for failing to lobby state legislators in Albany, whom they blame for shortchanging the city on education funding. The two rarely appear together at public events any more. And the Cathie Black debacle did nothing to raise Bloomberg's stock in the eyes of teachers.Things have gotten so bad between Bloomberg and the teachers that Mulgrew said he was starting to rethink his position on mayoral control, a policy the union once endorsed.
"This is something we're questioning, because wherever I go, when I'm outside of meetings with teachers, when I'm meeting with parents and the community, I'm constantly being called on," Mulgrew said. "They're asking, 'Why aren't you calling for the repeal of mayoral control?' That's something I'm getting more and more of."
I take back what I said in this post.
Mayoral control goes unchanged if Mulgrew doesn't have the guts (or is too corrupt) to call for the repeal.
After hundreds of school closures, the LIFO battle, the mayor's insistence on layoffs even as he increases tech spending in the DOE by $550 million, the mayor's plan to add fifteen standardized tests in high school (2 city, 1 state test per subject x five subjects = 15 tests), the DOE insistence on publishing the TDR reports in the media (and breaking a promise not to in the bargain) even though they're rife with errors - seriously, how much more evidence does Mulgrew need to see that mayoral control needs to go?
Don't take it back yet. he only said he would rethink it. Given the UFT's history of always supporting centralized control I'm betting the UFT goes for it again - but will argue for some tweaks like last time. Same sort of tweaks that protected us in the 2005 contract.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing - don't forget the lesson I teach in UFT 1.1 - keep an eye on what they do not what they say. Mulgrew is using the magic coin trick - distract people with their left hand while slipping the coin behind your ear with the right.
ReplyDeleteNorm, I was taking back the statement I made that mayoral control would be amended next time around. Michael pointed out that its a key component of the deform/privatization strategy and, as you say, I realized that I should watch what they do, not what they say.
ReplyDeleteEverything have seen Mulgrew do has been about concession.
They should fight mayoral control. But ultimately they probably won't.
As both a teacher and a parent, the deterioration of this system is horrific. My child is now in a high school subjected to the same ravages the high school I've taught in for many years has been subjected to, all from overcrowding. The overcrowding is the result of the chess game the DOE has been playing with high school closures as these schools are replaced by charter schools. At the same time, my child's school has apparently been cleaned out of older teachers with experience and savvy. The children are reduced to data producers, the teachers just doing what they must in terms of Regents test prep. Both my school and his remain decent schools by most standards. Mayoral control has been unquestionably an educational disaster that is affecting a generation of kids. It is heartbreaking what has happened to a once-great and EFFECTIVE school system whose demise was based on propaganda and public ignorance.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd like to think that maybe Mulgrew is just playing his cards close to the vest. Maybe he's waiting for Mayor4Life's approval ratings to sink even lower, so he'll have public opinion on his side when he makes his move.
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