Mulgrew on mayor: "We can all take comfort from the fact that Bloomberg will soon be only a bad memory to the people who care about schools"
— Lisa Fleisher (@lisafleisher) September 27, 2013
Alas, with all the concessions Mikey Mulgrew and his boss, Randi Weingarten, made to Bloomberg and the state on Race to the Top, on APPR, on ADVANCE, even with Bloomberg leaving office and a new mayor coming in, not much is going to change.
As James Eterno noted about the contract negotiations and school atmosphere in his latest post this morning, Bloomberg has set the paremeters for how the next contract will go no matter who is mayor.
Same goes for how the school system will be run.
They blew up so much of the old system - literally just blew it up - so that it could never be re-constituted post-Bloomberg and post-Klein.
Couple all of the reorganizations they have done to the system at large with all the changes to the evaluation system, the changes to how schools are funded for teacher salaries, the changes to the seniority system, and you realize that no matter who comes into power in January, much of the way the system is today will remain the same.
It is true that a determined and dogged mayor could undo some of the worst excesses of the Bloomberg years, but the jury is still out for me on whether de Blasio is that kind of mayor.
In any case, Mulgrew waving goodbye to Bloomberg with that sneer on his face is tantamount to his declaring the next mayor had to go through 52 Broadway before the Democratic primary season got started.
It's bluster and chutzpah, but like much of what emanates from Mulgrew and 52 Broadway, in the end it is self-serving and ultimately meaningless.
Bloomberg will go but many of the changes wrought in the last 12 years at both the city and state level will not.
They could go back to the old way teacher salaries are bugeted, would not be that hard. They basically switched to the current system overnight. If deBlasio won, that would a simple way to show he is an "anti-reformer" and not cost the city any more money. Show he values experienced teachers, and rid principals of the extra incentives to harrass and drive away senior teachers. The kind, I'm sure he would prefer be in front of his kids.
ReplyDeleteA good point - Randi agreed to the switch, if I'm not mistaken. I suspect de Blasio will not switch back. Just a guess, but I bet they want to keep it in principals' interests to get rid of senior teachers and hire rookies with lower salaries.
DeleteIf de Blasio wins, as much the editorials have attacked John Liu, I hope de Blasio assigns Liu an important/supportive position such as deputy mayor or schools chancellor. De Blasio is going to need the liberal strength of others around if he is to be attacked by the pro-Bloomberg media.
ReplyDeleteDe Blasio will not hire Liu. Liu is damaged goods and Liu is seen by politicos as a free lancer and publicity hound. De Blasio will not go there and to be honest, while I like John Liu and appreciate his support for working people and unions, I don't think it would be a good hire for de Blasio to put Liu in the administration. There are other, less prominent, people who are supportive of public education and working people who can be hired to work in the administration.
DeleteGee, Michel Mulgrew: isn't he the head of the UFT?
ReplyDeleteDidn't the UFT support mayoral control of the schools in 2002 and 2009, and doesn't it continue to support mayoral control?
Didn't the UFT refuse to lift a finger when Bloomberg bribed his way to overturning term limits?
Didn't the UFT remain "neutral" in 2009, effectively endorsing Bloomberg?
Please, Mr. BogusTough Guy, don't insult our intelligence.
He's a WWE figure - talks tough in public, yucks it up with his opponents in private. All one big show.
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