It is not a "cave" at all:
A deal on education and ethics reforms remain the key dividing lines between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature before the fiscal year starts a week from today.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County, said the sides are trying to ensure that schools at least know a range of potential aid if a deal on new teacher evaluations lingers into June. Cuomo has linked school aid to tougher evaluations, as well as a longer tenure period of teachers: from three to five years. It appears the sides are moving toward a four-year period before a teacher could get tenure.
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Schools want school-aid estimates as soon as possible as they prepare their budgets for a public vote May 19.
“We want to give as much clarity and predictability to school districts as we can to allow them to plan budgets,” Morelle said. “By the same token, the governor has been very clear that he wants, as part of the budget, a teacher-evaluation system different from the one we currently have.”
Tying school aid to the commission outcome is NOT a cave.
It's a way to force an outcome he wants a few months down the line.
Oh, and in case you didn't notice, Cuomo's going to get at least half of what he wants on tenure reform.
Don't think he won't get the same on evaluations - and maybe more - before it's all said and done.
Hope I'm wrong but the trajectory I see in these negotiations is compromise from the legislature and the teachers unions where no compromise need be made.
Cuomo is an unpopular governor with an unpopular agenda.
He can be told to go scratch with his agenda - and if he doesn't like it, he can purposely delay the budget himself.
Cuomo knows what the poll numbers are on that.
NYSUT ought to mount an ad campaign blaming him for purposely delaying a budget because he wants to increase the weight and emphasis of Common Core testing in schools.
See if Cuomo would like to have to counter that.
It's a shame the legislature and the teachers unions leadership doesn't seem to get this.
But doesn't seem they do.
The UFT does not give a sh*t about the rank and file teachers but there is no "compromise" in regard to Cuomo and his commission. As of now there are no UFT members appointed to this commission and I doubt that there will be. The UFT sold us out a long time ago and now Cuomo is gonna put the final nail in our coffins.
ReplyDeleteThe compromise is in not finding the commission. Magee said today she likes the idea so long as "experts" are on it. Cathy Nolan said something similar.
DeleteAmen! We are as good as done!
ReplyDeleteDidn't have to be - Cuomo's numbers are way down on education. Public is with us. They can just say no to Cuomo's agenda and back that up with the Q poll and Siena poll findings. Alas, they're going to "compromise" instead.
DeleteCuomo is a hater.
ReplyDeleteCuomo is a sociopath.
DeleteRBE I think your analysis is spot-on. The UFT/NYSUT can always be expected to sell us out at some point. The Assembly is a bunch of pretenders. Talk a good game but have a history of folding. We know the Senate under Skelos/Flanagan despises public schools and public school teachers and only care about advancing the cause of the charters.
ReplyDeleteOne wildcard is that the Senate is supposedly very concerned about their base in suburbia rising up against the GOP. Here on LI, most people are quite happy with their school districts and teachers, hence, the thousands that have been marching, attending meetings, opting their kids out of testing, etc. They don't want angry teachers and principals; they don't want more testing and a greater emphasis on the results; they don't want these games with school aid, which are disturbing the budget process and tax rate increase estimates.
At some point, the Senate GOP is going to pay a price over this. That's one of the reasons why Skelos wants a panel that can impose its recommendations with the force of law and not need legislative approval via an actual roll call vote.
RBE has been right all along: NYSUT could win this battle once and for all if it ran its earlier ads, as weak as they were. They could win by holding a few massive rallies around the state as a show of force - not rallies of a few hundred or a thousand. A rally with 100,000 teachers and family members. That could easily be done on LI-NYC.
I disagree. I really think that there is some serious secret money being exchanged between the privateers and the Cuomo regime. The game is over. (I hope I am wrong but it does seem this way)
ReplyDeleteI think as RBE stated that if this happens...the political payback would be amazing. Cuomo and his ilk would be thrown out in 2016/17/18 when voters all over the state would just come out to throw these pieces of shit out of office.
ReplyDeleteStill no word from Preet
Cuomo does not care one bit about getting thrown out. He knows he is rolling in the charter fund payola and that is all that matters.
ReplyDeletePreet , where are you? Arrest the three criminals and put them in a jail cell together.
ReplyDeletePreet is a shill. He will never indict Cuomo for fraud, corruption and bribery no matter how unambiguos the facts and evidence are.
DeleteAt tonight's DA Mulgrew talked about the rally. He said, even if the budget is done we'll still rally as a celebration of our schools. He also tried to explain the "matrix". MORE's anti-testing resolution fell short of 2/3rds required for debate. Mulgrew ran the clock out before we could get to their own testing resolution. Reading between the lines, I think it's a done deal.
ReplyDeleteMary
Preet has long since been bought and paid for.Outside of the occasional nods at action, he's been a Mushmouthed Mumbai Mumbler.F Preety boy and his political aspirations.Another lawyer/ shill/ 1% enabler.Well and properly screwed, we are!
ReplyDeleteWe need to start organizing a statewide teachers strike now just in case.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the "fix is in" with this commission, especially if school aid is tied to its findings. Unfortunately, for the people of NYS and for teachers, Albany the place where most things go to die and a few things come back alive. I lived and worked there for seven years in a high administrative gig and I have to tell you--they simply don't care. Of course, they're politicians and read the polls but they know that only a relatively small group of voters are "single issue" voters for whom education policy determines outcome--most everyone else votes their party affiliation because state policy issues only affect "low information" voters in the most diffuse manner. So they're relatively free to do what they want, which is usually the bidding of their contributors.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the polls and protests around the state were so conclusive and so visible clearly pushed Cuomo back out of his authoritarian mode and step back from pieces of his agenda but the Assembly is immune from threats by Republicans and the Senate is immune from threats by the Assembly and, in the end, Cuomo still does have some leverage.
A lot of this stuff has been dumped out of the budget, but, like a vampire, will rise again during the rest of the legislative session and, like vampires, they will find a way to suck more blood from teachers.
NYSUT has been a miserable failure at organizing teachers into a potent political force at the polls. If NYSUT made a coherent case for banding together, along with family and friends to vote in or out politicians based upon their positions on the issues we hold dear, then the union would be both respected and feared. Certainly, the current crisis would not exist.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day the only thing that matters to this band of crooks is 1) Not getting caught, arrested and indicted and 2) Not getting voted out of office.
Cuomo is employed by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch paid Cuomo seven hundred thousand dollars to destroy public education.
ReplyDelete