No Need To Worry For The Educrats And Their Shills In The "Non-Profit" World

Frank Bruni has another education reform column today that fetishizes the Department of Education, the educrats who run it and the reforms they impose, complete with quotes from Joel Klein, Kati Haycock and Michael Petrilli.

Gee, that's not rigging the column much, is it?

I'm not quoting from the column - you can read it yourself if you want.

But I did find this response in the comments relevant:

Six family members are teachers. Can anyone cite any measure by which initiatives instituted over the last 15 years achieved any success? No child left behind, common core, student growth objectives, over a hundred hours of standardized testing and teacher evaluations, just to name the ones I know. No child left behind resulted in half of my daughter’s 8th grade math class performing at a 2nd grade math level! These initiatives require so much administrative paperwork that the teachers don’t have enough time to prepare creative lesson plans. All six of the teachers I know work 60-80 hours per week. A substantial portion of the year is devoted to standard tests instead of teaching. Our children are at the greatest disadvantage in the history of this country and falling further behind. To what end? Do any of these decision-making bureaucrats/administrators ever speak with the teachers to learn what they would do to improve classroom effectiveness? Teachers are given unrealistic goals by which their performance is measured. For example, 2-3 grade level improvement in the students. I attended school in the sixties and believe the quality of my education is light years ahead of what our children get today. At that time, the teachers had a loose-leaf book with guidelines for each day’s lesson plan. There was at most, one standard test during the school year. Get rid of all the layers of six figure administrators and restore responsibility for the classroom to our teachers.

One big difference between the school experience the commenter mentions and now is the number of education "experts" in education "non-profits" who weigh in with the news media with their "expertise" on education issues.

There's an awful lot of money to be made shilling for corporate education reform, that's for sure.

And of course those "experts" in education working for the "non-profits" are all funded by very wealthy interests like Bill Gates or Eli Broad.

Frank Bruni need not worry for his beloved educrats and their reforms.

So long as the wealthy interests continue to back them, they'll be around.

Journal News: Cuomo's Education Tax Credit A "Giveaway" To His Donors

LoHud:

Supporters of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's education tax credit pitch the bill as being all about "parental choice." That's even in the name of the legislation. Yes, parents should be able to choose to put their kid in a private school – but the taxpayer shouldn't have to foot the bill.

The Parental Choice in Education Act does just that, though in a circuitous way. It's pitched as a simple tax break for donors, talked up as costing no one a thing. In fact, the state would set aside $150 million in state funds, and double that amount within a few years, to provide tax credits that will surely end up aiding corporations and other wealthy donors that give to private schools.

For those who support private and parochial education systems, with a true spirit of generosity, we say good for them. But tax revenue shouldn't be diverted away from state coffers – which is what tax credits end up doing – so more money makes its way to private schools.

One controversial part of the bill includes access to tax credits –75 percent of any gift up to $1 million – for donors. The pool of money for the tax credits is limited; the dollars would be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis. Large corporations with fancy accounting firms can quickly grab the tax credits, and mom-and-pop donors would likely be left wanting.

Especially for high-income corporations, a tax credit is exponentially more valuable than the current tax deductions available for charitable giving to nonprofit institutions, including private or parochial schools.

There's a big difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit: A tax deduction reduces your taxable income, so your taxes are based on a lower amount; a tax credit comes off your tax liability, so it's cut off the bottom line of what you owe in taxes. Or as JTA, touting the benefits to Jewish day schools, put it: "a tax credit is the equivalent of cash."

The NY Times didn't like the tax credit either:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo can talk passionately about improving New York’s “failing public schools,” but when he made that point at churches and a yeshiva last Sunday it was, at best, disingenuous. He was there to sell his bill that would help private and parochial schools, by offering big tax credits to their donors. This energetic effort for an expensive and possibly unconstitutional bill that Mr. Cuomo has named the Parental Choice in Education Act could cost the state more than $150 million a year. That money should be used to help almost 2.7 million public school students in the state, not given to wealthy donors subsidizing mainly private or religious schools.

Elizabeth Lynam, a budget expert for New York’s Citizens Budget Commission, called the bill “an extremely lucrative benefit likely to serve the state’s wealthiest taxpayers.” Many of the people who would get the credit already support their favorite private or parochial schools, she said. A tax credit to encourage them isn’t needed.

The bill would allow a 75 percent credit on donations of up to $1 million for each individual or corporation contributing to funds for students in private or parochial schools. That is a huge change from existing law, which offers far less lucrative tax deductions. Typically, for the wealthiest taxpayers, the maximum state tax deduction on $1 million is about $22,000. The Cuomo plan would cap the number of tax credits it gives out and create a complicated system of deadlines and requirements before donors could get the full benefits. Those difficulties add to the suspicion that only someone with a fancy accountant could easily take advantage of this tax bonus.

The $150 million pool includes millions of dollars in tax credits for donations that could provide scholarships to private or parochial students from families with incomes of up to $300,000 a year, which hardly targets the neediest students. And, in an attempt to attract support from the Assembly speaker ,Carl Heastie, and his Democratic majority, Mr. Cuomo has proposed $70 million for a tuition credit of $500 per child sent to nonpublic schools for families with incomes of up to $60,000. There would also be $10 million a year for public-school teachers, including those in charter schools, who could get up to $200 each in tax relief when they buy classroom supplies.

With this misguided bill, Mr. Cuomo may have found plenty of support from religious leaders and private school donors. But his efforts seems jarring, given his record of seeking more accountability in schools. The state has little say in private and parochial schools over testing, the teaching of basic subjects or other data collection required for assessing a good education.

Moreover, taxpayer support for religious education has been banned by the state Constitution for over a century. Exceptions were made long ago for universal needs like transportation and special education, but there are questions as to whether the kind of public support for religious schools the bill proposes would be prohibited.

Cuomo's eagerness to starve public schools and pay off his wealthy donors and charter school buddies knows no bounds.

The Journal News sees it the same way - this is nothing more than Cuomo paying back his donors and punishing his enemies:

Regardless of Cuomo's best efforts to push "options" to public education and weaken his newest political nemesis, public-school teachers, the state's Constitutional mandate continues to be the financial support of a public school system, with state funding of specific services provided to private schools. Not the other way around.

Senate Republicans are all in on the Cuomo tax giveaway, so about the only thing that's holding the line here is Assembly Dems - but they're under a heavy assault from Cuomo and the hedge fundies:

Advocates for the credit have targeted recalcitrant lawmakers in a series of brutal mailers and robocalls aimed at Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany.

Click the link to Capitol Confidential to hear the robocall.

What are the chances the heavy hearts in the Assembly hold the line on Cuomo's tax giveaway to his donors with the attacks they're taking?

Is The Criminal Investigation Into Cuomo's Crony In Buffalo Politically Motivated To Get At Cuomo?

As I blogged yesterday, one of Governor Cuomo's political cronies was on the other end of a law enforcement search:

State and federal investigators Thursday searched the homes of three Western New York political operatives – confidants to the New York governor, Buffalo mayor and a member of Congress – sending shock waves across state Democratic and Republican party circles.

The investigation of G. Steven Pigeon, Steven M. Casey and Christopher M. Grant appears focused around an independent political committee called the WNY Progressive Caucus, which has ties to Pigeon. Investigators appear interested in the financial activities of the caucus and its ties to several political campaigns in recent years. The probe also includes questions about “elevated” payments for advertising, mailings and other political activities, a law enforcement official said.

The raids targeted three men who have been integral players in local and statewide politics, and that fact was not lost on party insiders in Buffalo and Albany.

Pigeon has vast political connections, from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to billionaire businessman B. Thomas Golisano.

Casey – dubbed the “shadow mayor” – was until last year the first deputy mayor under Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown.

Grant is chief of staff for Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence.

The Buffalo mayor, Byron Brown, says he is not a target of the investigation:

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown acknowledged he knows all three Western New York political figures involved in State Attorney General’s Office probe.  Brown told reporters Friday he was surprised by the raids and is in no way connected.

“I have been informed by law enforcement that I’m not involved in the investigation,” said Brown.

The Cuomo administration, however, had no comment:

Last year, Pigeon also gave $54,000 to Cuomo’s re-election campaign. He and Cuomo have been tight for years, and the governor has sent signals to people in and out of government in Western New York that Pigeon should be considered his go-to political point person from the area.

The Cuomo administration had no comment Thursday.

The Buffalo Chronicle wondered back in February if the investigation into Pigeon was politically motivated to go after Governor Cuomo:

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been roundly criticized for failing to pursue public corruption cases against elected officials who have been accused of enriching themselves with public dollars.

So it is curious, they say, that he would allocate law enforcement resources into investigating a much more minor charge against the lobbyist G. Steven Pigeon, a former Chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party and an active figure in New York politics.

Pigeon, an intrepid political insider who engages in politics like sport, contributed $100,000 in personal savings to a PAC, managed by the political operative Kristy Mazurek. By all accounts, both are well versed in the legalities surrounding campaign spending and political action committees and insist that they adhered to those laws strictly.

...

Political observers say the investigation is a politically charged abuse of power that will backfire on the sitting Attorney General, whose central participation in the Moreland Commission debacle has raised serious ethics questions inside his office.

Pigeon is close to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is at odds with Scheiderman. In political circles, the AG is rumored to have cut a deal with US Attorney Preet Bharara on the Moreland Commission corruption scandal. Schneiderman’s deputizing of Commission members implicates him all sorts of legal improprieties. It’s rumored that he cut a deal to insulate himself from the scandal, but that has not been confirmed by either office.

Cuomo and Schneiderman have since been feuding intensely behind the scenes. Local operatives surmise that the AG is going after Pigeon as part of the tit-for-tat back and forth with the Governor’s political machine.

Schneiderman is known to be ambitious with his eyes set on the Governor’s mansion. Operatives close to Cuomo say that Schneiderman saw an opening to scandalize the Governor and, potentially, push him out of office.

It certainly sounds like someone from Cuomo's side was trying to get out the story that the investigation into Pigeon was politically motivated and bogus, that Schneiderman is behind it.

More and more, the tension between Schneiderman and Cuomo is out in the open.

This week, Schneiderman unveiled ethics reforms in a high profile speech meant to embarrass Sheriff Andy for doing little to clean up the cesspool that is Alabny politics.

Then came the Pigeon raid.

Pigeon, as detailed here, is close to the governor, has been "taking on more assignments from Cuomo" and was described as the governor's "top political person" in Western New York.

There's also a connection to Cuomo's lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul:

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. has recused himself from an investigation into the political activities of G. Steven Pigeon, sources close to the probe told The Buffalo News on Friday.

Because of the potential political ramifications of the probe – including the fact that Pigeon has served as a top political adviser to his wife’s boss, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo – Hochul removed himself from the case weeks ago and named his top assistant – James P. Kennedy – to oversee the investigation and coordinate with the state Attorney General’s Office, the sources said.

The U.S. Justice Department requires a prosecutor to recuse himself or herself from a case when “a conflict of interest exists or there is an appearance of a conflict of interest or loss of impartiality.”

The investigation – which became public knowledge Thursday with the execution of three search warrants – is focused on the political activities of Pigeon, former Democratic Party chairman for Erie County; Steven M. Casey, a Democrat and former deputy mayor of Buffalo; and Christopher M. Grant, a Republican who serves as chief of staff for Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence.

While Hochul’s office declined to comment on the reports of his recusal, there is a clear thicket of potential conflicts created by his wife’s career in political office:

• Lt. Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul works for and with Cuomo, and Pigeon for years has served as a top political adviser to the governor. Pigeon donated $54,000 to Cuomo’s successful re-election campaign last year.

• Grant was the campaign chairman for the candidates who opposed Kathleen Hochul in two hard-fought Congressional campaigns. In 2011, Kathleen Hochul defeated Republican Jane Corwin in a race for Congress. In 2012, Collins defeated Hochul in a run for the same seat. Grant ran both campaigns against Hochul.

• Kathleen Hochul has long been associated with a faction of the Erie County Democratic Party that has had a heated rivalry with Pigeon. Former county Democratic Party chairman Leonard Lenihan – a longtime rival of Pigeon’s – lobbied hard for Kathleen Hochul’s appointment to her first major political office, as county clerk, in 2007. That appointment set the stage for her later rise to congresswoman and lieutenant governor.

• Government records show that Pigeon gave a small campaign donation to Kathleen Hochul – $250 – in 2011.

I'm not smart enough to know if Schneiderman is looking to use this Pigeon raid to embarrass Cuomo and tie him to corruption in Western New York while also advance his own corruption-fighting credentials for a future political run (perhaps for Cuomo's current job?)

But it does seem like that was the story Cuomo wanted out there in February, before the search warrants and the raids on Pigeon, Casey and Grant.

Cuomo Says He's Open To "Intelligent" Changes To His Education Reforms

From State of Politics:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is open to “intelligent” modifications to the education measures approved in the budget in April, but indicated he would not support broader changes being sought by state lawmakers. 

Cuomo, appearing in Coxsackie at an event for his raise the age legislation, told reporters he was opposed to pushing back deadlines for developing and adopting new evaluation criteria. 

“Not the deadlines — but if there are intelligent suggestions, I’ll look at them,” Cuomo said. 

That does not include uncoupling of a boost in school aid to the adoption of the new evaluation scheme on the local level, Cuomo said. 

“No, if there intelligent suggestions. I don’t think those would be,” he said.

It seems "intelligent" changes to Cuomo means "no meaningful or significant changes."

Political Adviser, Confidant To Cuomo, Is Target Of Criminal Investigation And Law Enforcement Search

From the Buffalo News:

State and federal investigators Thursday searched the homes of three Western New York political operatives – confidants to the New York governor, Buffalo mayor and a member of Congress – sending shock waves across state Democratic and Republican party circles.

The investigation of G. Steven Pigeon, Steven M. Casey and Christopher M. Grant appears focused around an independent political committee called the WNY Progressive Caucus, which has ties to Pigeon. Investigators appear interested in the financial activities of the caucus and its ties to several political campaigns in recent years. The probe also includes questions about “elevated” payments for advertising, mailings and other political activities, a law enforcement official said.

The raids targeted three men who have been integral players in local and statewide politics, and that fact was not lost on party insiders in Buffalo and Albany.

Pigeon has vast political connections, from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to billionaire businessman B. Thomas Golisano.

Casey – dubbed the “shadow mayor” – was until last year the first deputy mayor under Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown.

Grant is chief of staff for Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence.

The Cuomo connection:

Last year, Pigeon also gave $54,000 to Cuomo’s re-election campaign. He and Cuomo have been tight for years, and the governor has sent signals to people in and out of government in Western New York that Pigeon should be considered his go-to political point person from the area.

The Cuomo administration had no comment Thursday.

More on the Cuomo/Pigeon connection from the Buffalo News in October 2013:

If Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo seems obsessed with all things Buffalo in the months leading to his re-election campaign, those familiar with the governor point to his rejection by the voters of nine western counties in 2010.

Perhaps that’s why Cuomo is turning to G. Steven Pigeon, one of his oldest – and most controversial – Western New York allies, for fundraising, politics and even policy, according to several sources.

The former Erie County Democratic chairman is taking on more assignments from Cuomo and is telling political leaders here of a larger role, according to at least half a dozen highly placed sources with knowledge of the situation.

A total of about 10 people interviewed for this article did not want to be identified, citing Pigeon’s controversial history and the governor’s penchant for keeping such matters within a close circle of advisers. And some say they doubt Pigeon’s claims of closer ties to the governor.

But there may be no more telling sign of a key role for Pigeon than his new and close relationship with former Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, the regional economic-development official from Buffalo who represents the governor in many matters here.

Pigeon and Hoyt personified political enmity during their respective days as party chairman and assemblyman, but observers now say the mere fact that the longtime archfoes are working together for Cuomo’s interests is significant.

“The only way Sam would even talk to him is because he’s told to,” said one local Democratic leader who is familiar with the situation and asked not to be identified.

Also telling is that Hoyt would not comment for this article. Neither would the normally talkative Pigeon.

And while Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi would not discuss Pigeon specifically when questioned by The Buffalo News, he did not deny the suggestion that Pigeon plays a role for the governor.

“The governor has many friends in Buffalo, from the mayor to the county executive to Sam Hoyt to Steve Pigeon,” Azzoparadi said.

Pigeon’s larger profile may also stem from other roles such as major campaign donor and the $50,000 check he presented to Cuomo’s birthday fundraiser at Manhattan’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel last December.

Other Democrats say a senior official for the governor has told members of the Cuomo administration, including Hoyt, to have regular contact with Pigeon. They say that Pigeon has joined conference calls and meetings and that his involvement transcends politics to include economic-development matters.

One major Democrat said local officials “employed by the State of New York” are aware of Pigeon’s enhanced position for the governor.

“He’s going to be his top political person,” the Democrat said of Pigeon’s role for the governor in Western New York. “Steve is telling people that.”

Pigeon’s role now fills a vacuum created by the Cuomo team’s lack of a relationship with the Erie County Democratic organization headed by Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner, according to many sources. And because the governor remains determined to win the one region where voters rejected him in 2010, Pigeon’s influence will be especially large, they say.

It all occurs as Cuomo looks to build his own local organization apart from Erie County Democratic Headquarters, hoping to win as much of New York State as possible next year to bolster a potential presidential bid.

“The governor is clearly fixated with Western New York; he wants to do better here,” said another Democrat familiar with the situation. “But he’s not going to deal with Zellner. So where does he go?”

“The governor clearly doesn’t have any use for the current Erie County Democratic Party organization,” said a state lawmaker who asked not to be identified, indicating that the situation opens possibilities for political operatives such as Pigeon to get the governor’s ear.

Pigeon’s admittance into Cuomo’s confidence should come as no surprise.

As Erie County chairman in 2002, he emerged as one of the few state leaders who endorsed Cuomo’s first but ill-fated bid for governor. The majority of local and statewide party leaders backed then-State Comptroller H. Carl McCall in a hotly contested primary.

And as Cuomo faced several opponents in the 2006 Democratic primary for state attorney general, Pigeon backed him over Denise E. O’Donnell, the former U.S. attorney for Western New York. While most Erie County Democrats supported the hometown candidate, Pigeon went with Cuomo at significant personal expense. O’Donnell is the mother of Pigeon’s longtime political associate Jack O’Donnell.

This is something to keep an eye on.

Cuomo desperately wanted to win Buffalo and surrounding counties in his re-election bid last year and handed out lots of state largesse to win people over to his cause.

That state largesse became known as the "Buffalo Billion" and was meant to be used for economic development in the region - though the Cuomo administration has worked hard to keep who was getting that money secret.

G. Steven Pigeon was his point guy in Buffalo - the guy with the "enhanced position" with the governor.

You can bet some of the "Buffalo Billion" flowed through him.

Why is Cuomo fighting to keep the "Buffalo Billion" recipients secret?

Again, something to keep an eye on - another burgeoning Cuomo scandal.

New York State Senate Education Committee Chair Under Investigation

Wow - you just can't make this stuff up.

Just last week, State Senator Car Marcellino was named to replace State Senator John Flanagan on the education committee.

Tonight NBC4 reports he's under investigation:

The Nassau County District Attorney's office has opened an investigation into whether a powerful local state senator improperly billed taxpayers for nearly $20,000 in car expenses, sources close to the probe tell NBC 4 New York's I-Team.

Republican Sen. Carl Marcellino of Syosset, who represents the Fifth Senate District, spent more than $20,000 of his campaign funds on automobile expenses between 2010 and 2013, according to campaign finance records.

Because those expenses were paid for by his campaign, it would be against the law for him to bill taxpayers for the same expense. According to records provided to the I-Team, the state reimbursed Marcellino for $18,500 in auto expenses during the same period.

The I-Team called Marcellino's office for comment several times over three days. Those calls have not been returned.

 Marcellino, first elected to the New York State Senate via special election in 1995, of the senate Investigations Committee, Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee and was recently appointed head of the Committee on Education.

NBC4 reports Marcellino was one of ten lawmakers looked at by the Moreland Commission for auto expense propriety, i.e. double dipping.

In perhaps unrelated news, Marcellino wrote the following earlier this year about Governor Cuomo's education policies:

“Let’s be clear. I do not support the Governor’s education reform proposals,” he wrote. “His plan is bad policy and bad for education. If it was up to me alone, these concepts would be off the table completely, but it takes the Senate, the Assembly and the Governor to craft a final budget. We must negotiate. Our Senate one house budget did not accept his plan and clearly states our intention to modify his flawed design.”

Marcellino also introduced a bill to delay the teacher evaluation deadline for districts until June 2017 and has backed legislation to release the questions and answers to the state Common Core tests.

It's interesting to me that a guy not totally on board with the education reform agenda gets elevated to education committee chair, then is the subject of a leak that he's under investigation for double dipping.

No smoking gun there, of course, but the skeptic in me wonders why the Marcellino leak comes now, especially since he was one of ten lawmakers the Moreland Commission looked at for "auto expense propriety."

As Arsenio Hall used to say, things that make you go "Hmmm..."

Complicity And Cover-Up: MaryEllen Elia's Failure Of Leadership In The Deaths Of Hillsborough Students

The tragic stories of Isabella Herrera, a 7 year old who died in 2012 while on a Hillsborough school bus, and Keith Logan Coty, a 6 year old who died of a brain hemorrhage in 2014 after getting sick at his school, suggest the kind of leadership we'll get from new NYSED commissioner MaryEllen Elia.

Then Hillsborough superintendent, Elia never took responsibility for the failure of district personnel to call 911 in a timely manner when Isabellea Herrera was found unresponsive on a Hillsborough school bus.

In fact, Elia did all she could to deflect responsibility from herself and the district and cover-up district complicity in the child's death because of an outdated policy that had school bus drivers call dispatchers instead of 911 in an emergency.

As Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune wrote, if not for a lawsuit from the Herrera family, the circumstances of the girl's death - a direct consequence of school district policy continued under Elia - would not have come to light:

For all the community outrage over circumstances that contributed to the death of 7-year-old special-needs student Isabella Herrera, consider this: If her parents hadn't filed a federal lawsuit over the way her case was handled, the public still wouldn't know there was ever a problem.

There wouldn't be a task force to study ongoing problems with how issues with special-needs students are addressed.

School bus drivers would continue to follow the 21-year-old policy of calling dispatchers instead of 911 in an emergency such as the one that led to Isabella's death.

Six of seven members of the Hillsborough County School Board would still be in the dark about what happened that January day on the bus taking Isabella home from classes.

Life would go on just always. Except, of course, for Isabella and her family.

She had a neuromuscular disease that made her neck muscles weak. She was supposed to have her head back as she sat in her wheelchair, but she tilted forward and it blocked her airway. When it was discovered, the driver called dispatch and the aide on board called Isabella's mother.

By the time Lisa Herrera arrived and dialed 911 herself, her daughter was blue and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead the next day.

But Superintendent MaryEllen Elia didn't make the news public. She relied on a sheriff's office investigation that she said found no criminal wrongdoing, and appeared to let it go at that. During an interview last week, I asked why she didn't release the news. She fell back on the sheriff's report.

If you're the parent of a special-needs student, though, you would have liked to know there was a problem. I should say, is a problem. There have been three other issues with special-needs kids just this year, including the recent death of a student with Down syndrome who wandered away unnoticed and drowned.

The Herrera family filed its lawsuit a few days after that — about nine months after Isabella died. Now we have a task force, and a policy change allowing bus drivers to call 911 if the situation warrants. As school board Vice Chairwoman April Griffin told The Tampa Tribune though, "It goes way, way deeper than that. But I think it's a start."

This would be a better start: Expand the task force to probe the circumstances of why it took a lawsuit to bring this to a head. This isn't a witch hunt, but there has to be accountability.

What happened in the aftermath of this tragedy was at best a case of bureaucratic bungling.

When a child dies, a leader doesn't fall back on official reports and policy excuses. A leader gets to the bottom of things and then lets everyone know what went wrong so it doesn't happen again. A leader asks uncomfortable questions about the culture in a school system that values policy and procedure over good judgment and common sense.

That didn't happen here. And if not for a lawsuit, no one would have known.

Two years later, another child died after Hillsborough school staff failed to call 911 in a timely manner:

TAMPA — Keith Logan Coty played baseball, soccer and football. He was a principal's honor roll student in the first grade at Seminole Heights Elementary School, his mother said.

He'd had a heart murmur, but the doctor had cleared him, his mother said.

He died a year ago at age 6 of a brain hemorrhage, and a lawsuit filed Friday blames staff at his school for failing to call for help quickly enough. The lapse is especially unfathomable, lawyers say, as the issue of timely 911 calls was cited in another high-profile student death in a Hillsborough public school.

"How many kids under the care of this school district must die before the district gets it right?" lawyer Steven Maher asked, announcing the federal suit in a news conference Friday.

Exactly a year ago — Jan. 17, 2014 — Keith began feeling sick after lunch, the suit says. He went back to his classroom about 12:24 p.m., complaining to his teacher about a severe headache. She told him to lie down. He did. Then he started vomiting.

About 12:51, the teacher called Keith's mother, Kaycee Teets. There was no sense of urgency in the voice mail message she left, which Maher played at the news conference. It simply asked Teets to pick up her son because he was throwing up.

Before Teets could arrive, another school employee entered the room and found Keith lying on his side, making a gurgling sound with foam streaming from his nose. "His lips were blue," the suit said. The school nurse was summoned. Although Keith was unresponsive, the suit alleges the nurse did not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation; nor did she use the defibrillator at the school.

About 12:58 p.m., a worker in the front office called 911. The information given to the 911 operator was confusing, the suit alleges. At one point the caller said Keith was breathing. His mother insists he was not.

When an emergency vehicle arrived at 1:03 p.m., Keith was "in the corner, visibly blue, not breathing, and unresponsive." Paramedics were able to resuscitate the child, and they took him to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa.

A scan revealed he had a brain hemorrhage. But, according to the suit, no one told the doctors about his headache, information Teets learned hours later when she spoke with Keith's teacher. Not suspecting a neurological problem, doctors focused on possible cardiac issues instead.

Keith "went without oxygen for at least 10 minutes as a result of the delay in commencing CPR," the suit alleges. He stayed on life support long enough for his organs to be taken for donation, and he was pronounced dead later in the day.

The suit, filed days before Superintendent MaryEllen Elia could face a School Board vote on terminating her contract, is reminiscent of a suit the same firm filed in 2012, also involving a child alleged to have died after emergency treatment was delayed.

Isabella Herrera suffered a neuromuscular disability and was on a school bus when she stopped breathing. No one called 911 until Isabella's mother arrived. The school district ultimately settled that lawsuit for $800,000.

The Herrera suit was filed in federal court, alleging a civil rights violation; rather than a negligence suit in state court, where the award would have been limited under sovereign immunity. Maher was trying to prove a districtwide lack of training and care so severe, it amounted to a level of indifference toward disabled students that qualified as discrimination.

This time, Maher said, the 911 policy and procedures amount to discrimination toward all of Hillsborough's 200,000 students.

The district argued in the 2012 suit that there was no pattern of indifference. And, after the drowning death of a second special-needs child that same year, Hillsborough revamped its training of staff, particularly those who care for disabled children.

But 911 calls have remained a source of confusion. While Elia quickly stated there is no prohibition against calling 911, administrators sometimes advise staff to let the front office make the calls. Phone service is not always reliable in the classrooms, they say, and it's easier for emergency workers to find the office than a particular classroom.

Maher and Teets said that makes no sense to them.

"I would call 911. There would be no question," Teets said. "Any person would do that. I walked into a classroom and found my child, blue on the ground."

Stephen Hegarty, the district's spokesman, said, "I cannot comment on pending litigation."

Maher said his firm is asking for monetary damages, but did not specify the amount.

Where are the great leadership qualities Elia supposedly has in the aftermath of these tragedies involving Hillsborough students?

If one student dies as a result of the failure of staff to call 911 in a timely manner, wouldn't you think a "great leader" would put together an effective protocol so that such a tragedy wouldn't happen a second time?

Elia instead did her best to cover up the circumstances surrounding Isabella Herrera's death - something that was noted when Elia was feted with a commendation by the Tampa Bay City Council after she was fired as Hillsborough superintendent.

Mary Mulhern, a council member who voted against the commendation for Elia, told the Tampa Tribune:

"MaryEllen Elia was fired by her employers — by her boss, the School Board," she said. "I can't think of another case where someone gets lauded and celebrated after they've been fired from a job that is a public responsibility. … When you are responsible for the lives of children, I think one strike is too many."

Elaborating, Mulhern cited the deaths of three students:

• 7-year-old disabled student Isabella Herrera, who died in January 2012 after suffering respiratory failure aboard a school bus. A bus video show that the driver and an aide did not call 911, but used a radio to try to reach their supervisor, as was protocol, then called Herrera's mother, who arrived and called 911. The School Board, most of whose members were unaware of the death until the girl's parents sued, agreed to pay $800,000 last year to settle a federal lawsuit.

• 11-year-old Jennifer Caballero, who had Down syndrome and drowned in a pond behind Rodgers Middle School after wandering away from a crowded gym class in October 2012. The school district agreed to pay a negotiated settlement estimated at more than $500,000. Investigations led to three firings and several resignations at the school. The district also took steps after the deaths to improve safety for special-needs students on buses and in school.

• 6-year-old Keith Logan Coty, who died a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in January 2014 at Seminole Heights Elementary School. In a lawsuit, his parents accuse the school district of being indifferent to student safety and of discouraging staffers from calling 911 in emergencies. The district denies the allegations.

"If somebody dies, it goes to the top," Mulhern said. In the Herrera case, she said, "her employers didn't know this happened for nine months. … For me, that's enough. That's three strikes."

Mulhern said she didn't "disagree that (Elia has) done very good work over 10 years," but the concerns about student safety were overriding for her.

"The powers that be in Tampa and Hillsborough County just circled the wagons around this powerful person," who, Mulhern noted, had the authority to give out contract. 

Say what you will about former NYSED commissioner John King's flaws as a leader - covering up district complicity in the death of a student and a failure to fix emergency protocol for 911 calls involving students weren't on the list.

The more you learn about MaryEllen Elia and her "leadership," the more you see the big mistake the Board of Regents made by hiring her as NYSED commissioner.

Also, the more you learn about Elia as a person, the more you see how appropriate her nickname - MaryEllen EVILia - is.

Flanagan Bill Lifts Charter Cap By 100

From State of Politics:

A measure introduced late last night by Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan would extend mayoral control of New York City schools for one year.

The bill would also seek to expand access to the state’s charter schools as well by raising the statewide cap on the schools by 100, from 460 to 560 — a proposal first backed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the start of the year.

The Assembly already approved a bill extending mayoral control by three years - the extension was not tied to the charter cap.

We'll see what eventaully comes of all this.

But if I had to guess, I'd bet the cap either goes up statewide or some of the charter slots outside the city get shifted down here (statewide, the charter cap has not been reached.)

In any case, same old same old.

We have a new senate majorty leader in John Flanagan but the same old pro-charter policies.

But what else can you expect from a guy on the StudentsFirst payroll?

Just Another Sign Of Toxic Schooling

From the NY Times:

Anxiety has now surpassed depression as the most common mental health diagnosis among college students, though depression, too, is on the rise. More than half of students visiting campus clinics cite anxiety as a health concern, according to a recent study of more than 100,000 students nationwide by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State.

Nearly one in six college students has been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety within the last 12 months, according to the annual national survey by the American College Health Association.

The causes range widely, experts say, from mounting academic pressure at earlier ages to overprotective parents to compulsive engagement with social media. Anxiety has always played a role in the developmental drama of a student’s life, but now more students experience anxiety so intense and overwhelming that they are seeking professional counseling.

As students finish a college year during which these cases continued to spike, the consensus among therapists is that treating anxiety has become an enormous challenge for campus mental health centers.

And guess where all that anxiety starts?

Anxiety has become emblematic of the current generation of college students, said Dan Jones, the director of counseling and psychological services at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.

Because of escalating pressures during high school, he and other experts say, students arrive at college preloaded with stress. Accustomed to extreme parental oversight, many seem unable to steer themselves. And with parents so accessible, students have had less incentive to develop life skills.

“A lot are coming to school who don’t have the resilience of previous generations,” Dr. Jones said. “They can’t tolerate discomfort or having to struggle. A primary symptom is worrying, and they don’t have the ability to soothe themselves.”

Oh - and guess what exacerbates the problem?

Social media is a gnawing, roiling constant. As students see posts about everyone else’s fabulous experiences, the inevitable comparisons erode their self-esteem. The popular term is “FOMO” — fear of missing out.

You know what would be a great way to solve this growing problem?

Ratcheting up the level of anxiety at school with some new "tough" standards and new "tough" tests tied to those estandards.

You know what would be even better?

Force teachers to use rubrics for every assignment so that students always know what the expectations are and they never ever have to live with any uncertainty.

And you know what would make for the hat trick?

Stick the kids in front of computers all day for some "personalized learning" so that their interactions with their fellow human beings, both peers and adults, are as minimal as possible.

Oy.

Education reform, helicopter parenting and technology - wrecking an entire generation.

New NYSED Commissioner: We'll "Repaint" The Common Core Narrative So People Like It

The new NYSED commissioner today:

"Opt-outs are no good for teachers and no good for parents," Elia told teachers and Albany City Schools Superintendent Marguerite Wyngaard. Albany City schools reported an estimated 16 percent non-compliance rate for the English Language Arts exams this year. Elia said the state needs to "repaint" the narrative surrounding Common Core standards.

Oh goodie - a rebranding effort on the Common Core.

Can't wait.

People love a rebranding effort.

New Coke, for example.

Or the Syfy network.

Since Elia took $100K from Gates for teacher evaluations in her former district of Hillsborough, let's not forget the Microsoft rebrand with Windows 8 (It's a computer system...it's a cell phone system...it's both...it's neither...)

Ah, yeah - people love rebrands.

Can't wait to see how Long Island and Westchester parents receive Elia's "repainting" the Common Core narrative.

Can't wait to see how they receive her "opt out is no good for parents" message as well.

What's The Over/Under On MaryEllen Elia As NYSED Commissioner?

The rundown on new NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia so far:

Creating a fear-based workplace where subordinates felt "browbeaten" and bullied.

Accused of trying to cover up district complicity in the death of a 7 year old special needs child.

Was the target of parent protest for lack of district response after a second special needs child died at a Hillsborough school.

Oversaw a school district that has been accused of racial discrimination in its discipline policies and is target of federal complaint.

Oversaw a school busing and choice program that created a "reign of chaos" at McLane Middle School for ten years.

Was dubbed "MaryEllen EVILia" by some parents for pursuing district policies that harmed children with special needs.

Couldn't play nice with the school board and was ultimately whacked in a 4-3 vote in January.

And that's just what we've learned in the first 24 hours since she surfaced as the new NYSED commissioner.

You can bet we'll learn more in coming days, but for now that's quite a list of negatives.

Michael Fiorillo thinks that by appointing so divisive and flawed a personage as MaryEllen Elia, reformers are signaling that the first string reform team isn't interested in tangling with LI and suburban NY parents over ed deform policies, the Endless Testing regime and the like:

Though Weingrew are to be criticized for their usual lapdog behavior, this woman's appointment is an oncoming train wreck for the so-called reformers, and will bite them in the ass. It suggests that they're having trouble getting A-List so-called reformers to take on Long Island and Westchester parents.

May this woman leave with her barbed tail between her legs...

There are certainly a whole host of red flags around this appointment.

Elia's inability to work well with the Hillsborough board, her rep for micromanaging, her rep for retaliation against perceived enemies, her rep for creating a toxic, FEAR-based workplace culture where subordinates were too afraid to tell her the truth, her refusal to come clean on the tragic death of the 7 year old child, the animosity she engendered from some parents (especially those with children of special needs), and her refusal to change course on district policies unless forced to suggest she isn't long for the New York State Education Department.

We'll see - maybe she'll read the political landscape and understand that a thin skin, harsh treatment of subordinates, dismissal of parent concerns and micromanaging the state isn't going to work at this point in time.

But I'm skeptical about that and will certainly be watching for her first screw-up.

Given her track record, it shouldn't be too long.

Parents Wanted MaryEllen Elia Out After Deaths Of Two Special Needs Students

The third post in a "Who is this MaryEllen Elia?" series, this one from State Impact (NPR) on November 8, 2012

A group of parents is asking for the resignation of Hillsborough schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia and school board member Candy Olson following the deaths of two special needs students. 

A protest is planned for 4 p.m. today at the school board meeting.
School board members are also questioning the district’s policies, theTampa Bay Times reports, after a lawsuit was filed over the January death of 7-year-old Bella Herrera. 

Herrera had a neuromuscular disorder and had trouble breathing while riding a school bus. She was unresponsive by the time she got to a hospital and died the next day. 

In October, 11-year-old Jennifer Caballero drowned in a retention pond at Rogers Middle School in Riverview. Caballero had Down syndrome and slipped away from teachers and adult supervisors during a gym class. 

Two Facebook pages have been set up in response to the deaths.
Hillsborough school board member Stacy White says he plans to ask Elia for a top-to-bottom review of the district’s exceptional student education program. From the Times: 

“I was intending to wait until our next business meeting to have what I call a robust conversation,” said board member Stacy White. “But clearly I will not be able to wait that long.” 

…White wants to go farther. He plans to ask superintendent MaryEllen Elia to examine the entire exceptional student education (ESE) system and consider changes in its leadership. 

“My expectation is that the superintendent will look at that department,” he said. If not, “then I will explore the idea of an outside investigation.” 

In addition, a special needs student drowned at a September back-to-school party hosted by Pepin Academy, a Hillsborough County charter school.

Elia was accused of trying to cover up district policy that may have led to the death of one of the children, Isabella Herrera:

For all the community outrage over circumstances that contributed to the death of 7-year-old special-needs student Isabella Herrera, consider this: If her parents hadn't filed a federal lawsuit over the way her case was handled, the public still wouldn't know there was ever a problem. 

There wouldn't be a task force to study ongoing problems with how issues with special-needs students are addressed. 

School bus drivers would continue to follow the 21-year-old policy of calling dispatchers instead of 911 in an emergency such as the one that led to Isabella's death. 

Six of seven members of the Hillsborough County School Board would still be in the dark about what happened that January day on the bus taking Isabella home from classes. 

Life would go on just always. Except, of course, for Isabella and her family.
She had a neuromuscular disease that made her neck muscles weak. She was supposed to have her head back as she sat in her wheelchair, but she tilted forward and it blocked her airway. When it was discovered, the driver called dispatch and the aide on board called Isabella's mother. 

By the time Lisa Herrera arrived and dialed 911 herself, her daughter was blue and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead the next day. 

But Superintendent MaryEllen Elia didn't make the news public. She relied on a sheriff's office investigation that she said found no criminal wrongdoing, and appeared to let it go at that. During an interview last week, I asked why she didn't release the news. She fell back on the sheriff's report. 

If you're the parent of a special-needs student, though, you would have liked to know there was a problem. I should say, is a problem. There have been three other issues with special-needs kids just this year, including the recent death of a student with Down syndrome who wandered away unnoticed and drowned. 

The Herrera family filed its lawsuit a few days after that — about nine months after Isabella died. Now we have a task force, and a policy change allowing bus drivers to call 911 if the situation warrants. As school board Vice Chairwoman April Griffin told The Tampa Tribune though, "It goes way, way deeper than that. But I think it's a start." 

This would be a better start: Expand the task force to probe the circumstances of why it took a lawsuit to bring this to a head. This isn't a witch hunt, but there has to be accountability. 

What happened in the aftermath of this tragedy was at best a case of bureaucratic bungling. 

When a child dies, a leader doesn't fall back on official reports and policy excuses. A leader gets to the bottom of things and then lets everyone know what went wrong so it doesn't happen again. A leader asks uncomfortable questions about the culture in a school system that values policy and procedure over good judgment and common sense. 

That didn't happen here. And if not for a lawsuit, no one would have known.

Did the Board of Regents investigate these deaths and MaryEllen Elia's response to them? 

Did they ask her anything about them?

If so, how did she respond?

Did she take responsibility for the "bureaucratic bungling," as the Tampa Bay columnist Joe Henderson called it, or did she again wash her hands of the matter as she did in the interview with Henderson?

Is this the kind of leader the Board of Regents wants to run New York State schools?

Allegations Of Racial Discrimination In Hillsborough Schools Under MaryEllen Elia's Leadership

Here's another item on MaryEllen Elia's track record as superintendent of the Hillsborough school district:

Marilyn Williams, a retired teacher and Tampa activist, alleges that the Hillsborough County School District discriminates against black students by subjecting them to harsher penalties than white students. She also claims students in lower-income schools, which are predominantly black, are denied access to experienced teachers.

...

Frustration. Disappointment. Anger.

These words swing through Marilyn Williams' mind whenever she thinks about how black students are treated in the district.

That's why she filed the complaint.

After earning a master's degree in conflict resolution and teaching in different schools outside the state, Williams moved to Florida in 1999. She spent a few years working with the local NAACP, which she said allowed her to gather the information necessary to challenge the system.

After a while, Williams started noticing small things. Black children who had to earn a teacher's trust. Counselors who weren't as patient. An increase in school resource officers and violent incidents.

Then she looked at the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores in Hillsborough County broken down by race. And she was astounded.

In 2013, 37 percent of black students in the third grade scored at or above the minimum achievement level for reading. That number dropped to 34 percent for eighth-graders and 29 percent for 10th-graders.

"Unless one is willing to accept the belief that black students are intellectually inferior ... then one must question why the district has consistently had poor academic performance outcomes for black students," Williams wrote in her complaint.

Williams also included a report from the Advancement Project that suggested harsh policies disproportionately affect students of color. For example, black students comprised 21 percent of the Hillsborough County school population but accounted for 50 percent of out-of-school suspensions during the 2011-12 school year.

"That kind of blew my mind," Williams said. 

Here's the update on that investigation as of February:

A special task force commissioned by Hillsborough County schools is working to address disparities in minority discipline, an issue currently being investigated by the federal Office of Civil Rights.

The Office of Civil Rights launched an investigation last year after a complaint was filed alleging that the district disciplines black and Hispanic males more harshly than their white peers for the same offenses.

District spokesman Steve Hegarty said the district recognizes there are disparities, and is working to try and reduce the gap. The task force that met on Friday is currently reviewing school policies and procedures to make sure they are implemented fairly across racial lines.

MaryEllen Elia will take over as NYSED commissioner in July.

"Reign Of Chaos" For Ten Years At A Hillsborough Middle School Under MaryEllen Elia's District Leadership

We'll be looking at the track record of the new NYSED Commissioner, MaryEllen Elia, nicknamed EVILia by some Florida parents, over the next few posts.

Here's the first piece - the Tampa Bay paper on one troubled school in the Hillsborough district that the paper claims was exacerbated by district busing and magnet school policies under Elia:

First she noticed the gates around the building, then the boys playing football shirtless at the bus stop. Kenyatta McClairen had a bad feeling about her 11-year-old son's new school.

Her instincts were right.

Before her son could make it to class on his first day, one boy grabbed his neck while the other tried to snatch his cubic zirconium earring. Afraid of his attackers, he just gave it to them, the police report said.

The robbery didn't happen in the high-crime East Tampa neighborhood where McClairen and her children lived. It happened inside a school 12 miles away in Brandon, a bedroom community with 3,000-square-foot homes and backyard pools.

McLane Middle School, by some measures the most troubled school in Hillsborough County, has battled waves of violence and crime for the better part of a decade.

Rampant suspensions have cut down on class time, especially for McLane's black students, who test well below black children at other middle schools. Teacher ratings are unusually low, suggesting children who need the most help are being bused to the place least able to provide it. And while behavior has improved under an energetic new principal, large-scale busing from Tampa's poorest neighborhoods — a root cause of the disorder — remains in effect.

What happened at McLane is partly a function of the way society's problems spill into big, urban school systems. But a closer look reveals Hillsborough school leaders helped create McLane's problems years ago, then let them fester.

As part of a well-intended move to foster racial integration, officials allowed magnet schools to claim most of the middle school seats in East Tampa and import their students from other areas. The policy pushed large concentrations of poor East Tampa students into a faraway school that had no connection to their neighborhood and a staff weakened by too many under-performing teachers.

That led to what experts say was an entirely foreseeable reign of chaos that the district let stand in the face of alarming headlines and statistics. Over the last decade — culminating with an especially troubling 2013-14 academic year — thousands of 11-, 12- and 13-year-old kids found themselves in a middle school that failed them.

Last year, records show:

• An average of one student a week left McLane in handcuffs.

• Nearly 14 percent of teachers were rated "unsatisfactory," nearly nine times the district average and more in number, 9, than any other public school in Florida.

• McLane's state test scores lagged behind the district average for middle schools. And its black students, who comprise slightly more than half the school, performed 10 to 20 percentage points worse than their black peers across the county.

• McLane students were three times more likely than those at other Hillsborough middle schools to receive out-of-school suspensions and six times more likely to be referred for expulsion or change in placement, with many problems occurring on long bus rides.

• McLane led the county with 35 expulsion cases, eclipsing schools twice its size. The school record: 51 in 2007. Black students were most affected, with far more cases in the last three years than at any other middle school.

Acting superintendent Jeff Eakins, who lives in Brandon, said he doubts McLane was as constantly chaotic as some describe. But he acknowledged "pockets of occurrences, sometimes on a daily basis" that created stress for students and teachers.

Others who experienced it describe the school differently.

"It was kind of a shock to the senses," said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Chad Keen, who became McLane's resource officer in early 2014. "I came in thinking, 'How bad can this be? I was in middle school once.' I wasn't here on campus but 30 minutes and there was already a huge fight breaking out in the main office."

Reading teacher Margery Singleton said she left abruptly in late 2013 after bullies threatened a seventh-grader in her class. She tried to lock them out, but another student let them in. She recalls seeing her student tremble and knowing his tormenters would be waiting for him later.

"I think about McLane a lot. It's something that is burned into my psyche," Singleton said.

"I couldn't take it any more. I needed to separate myself. I've never seen anything like it."

"School choice" policies supported by MaryEllen Elia have been blamed for the problems:

At community meetings in Hillsborough and nationwide, civil rights activists increasingly invoke the phrase "school-to-prison pipeline." The theory holds that schools discipline black students more frequently and harshly through zero-tolerance policies and racial bias, setting them on a path toward the criminal justice system.

A complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights alleges Hillsborough not only over-disciplines black students, but gives them an inferior education.

At D-rated McLane, a number of grim statistics support those allegations. Nearly 90 percent of last year's expulsion cases involved black students, who make up 52 percent of the school.

Sixteen percent of McLane's black eighth graders were reading at grade level, compared with 62 percent of its white eighth graders. Districtwide, 35 percent of black eighth graders and 68 percent of white eighth graders read at grade level.

Officials who created the McLane situation, and experts outside the district, say what happened there did not arise from discrimination. Rather, they say, students were collateral damage in a war of competing interests as the district embraced magnet schools decades ago.

Starting in the 1990's, East Tampa's middle schools — Young, Franklin, Ferrell, Orange Grove and Williams — became specialty schools offering curricula in science and technology, criminal justice and the performing arts. Later, Ferrell and Franklin became single-gender schools.

The middle magnet schools choose their students through a lottery system that is weighted based on zip code, income and other factors designed to create a diverse student body. But, as with the choice program, families must apply. If they do not, or if they apply and do not get in, the children are put on a bus to McLane or another school.

The choice program, rolled out in 2004, was intended to maintain the diversity court-ordered busing had created. The idea was that urban families would send their children to suburban schools in hopes of giving them the best education.

But officials were way off in predicting how many would take part. "Many parents, because of where they live and where they work, even if it's a failing school, their kids are going to go there," said Bill Person, then-director of pupil administrative services.

Person, now retired, said he tried to warn his bosses that thousands of middle school students needed seats. But they were slow to respond. And when they tried to convert some magnets to neighborhood schools, they met with resistance from parents who didn't want to move their kids.

"We were not willing to make the hard decisions to reclaim seats in the inner city," he said.

The district made room for some East Tampa middle school students by converting James and B.T. Washington to K-8 schools. But both were overrun by students. Books, computers and bathrooms were scarce. Expulsion cases were in the double digits. That plan was short-lived.

There was talk of building a new middle school near Ybor City. But that has yet to happen.

When told what became of McLane, Person said: "We always thought this was temporary. We never thought it would still be going on after 10 years."

Elia was head of the district for 10 years.

She was fired by the school board in January of this year.

The federal investigation into complaints of racial discrimination in her former school district continues.

McLane is said to be improving under a new principal.

MaryEllen Elia  has just been appointed NYSED commissioner and will take over the position in July.

NY Board Of Regents To Parents And Teachers: Screw You!

In naming MaryEllen Elia, a former superintendent of Hillsborough, Florida schools to be NYSED commissioner today, the New York State Board of Regents sent parents and teachers in a strong message:

Full speed ahead on reforminess.

Oh, and screw you if you don't like it.

Elia, who was nicknamed EVILia by some parents for her attitude toward special needs children, was divisive in her former gig in Hillsborough and was ultimately shown the door by the school board  in a 4-3 vote.

Besides earning the ire of some parents, Elia has the reputation of creating a fear-based workplace, and retaliating against employees she considered enemies.

She also won $100K for her school district from the Gates Foundation by promising to fire the "bottom" 5% of teachers every year.

In short, she's John King on steroids.

Even today, she doubled down on reforminess, using the dog whistle language reformers so love to hear:

“Everything that happens for students happens in a classroom because of great teachers,” Elia said after her selection. “And I think the biggest thing we can all do is work to improve and support teachers to get better every day.”

Everything that happens for students in a classroom is because of great teachers?

Really?

What about great resources, a great curriculum, small class sizes, great district and school leadership?

Nope - only teachers matter.

That's reformy speak for "I'll be firing as many teachers as I can" - which is why StudentsFirstNY praised her today.

Elia also doubled down in support of the Common Core and testing:

At a press conference following her appointment Elia said she supports CommonCore and believes that with better communication, people will support testing and what it offers.

The Board of Regents voted unanimously to appoint Elia as NYSED commissioner.

That the regents chose so divisive a personage, somebody with the reputation of bullying subordinates and dismissing criticism from parents and employees in her time at Hillsborough, sends a very clear message to parents and teachers in New York State.

Your input on education policy is not wanted - it's full speed ahead on reforminess whether you like it or not.

The only response is here is a barrage of emails, calls and visits to legislators to let them know you ultimately hold them responsible for this appointment and you will make sure they pay a political price next election for supporting the Board of Regents in this decision.

Regents To Name New NYSED Commissioner With Reputation For Cultivating Culture Of Fear/Retaliation In Her Former District, Ignoring Special Needs Children

From the Buffalo News:

ALBANY – The State Board of Regents is preparing to appoint a well-regarded Florida schools leader with Lewiston roots to become New York’s next education commissioner.

MaryEllen Elia, 66, would become the first woman and first with Buffalo Niagara roots to ever take the post.

Elia is being recommended by the board’s search committee, but the full body must approve the appointment. The 17 Regents were given notice over the holiday weekend to report to Albany on Tuesday for a special meeting to interview Elia and then vote on her appointment.

They will go into an executive session at noon to discuss her appointment.

She's a reformer, of course - she pushed for and successfully implementated a merit pay system in her district, for example.

Also she got a hundred million from the Gates Foundation to put in place a system to fire 5% of teachers.

But there's more:

Toward the end of her tenure, however, she faced criticism from school board members and some segments of the community, who said she cultivated a workplace of fear and did not pay enough attention to issues that affect minority children, including the disproportionate number of black students receiving suspensions.

Parents of special needs students launched a social media campaign against her, dubbing her “EVILia.” 

One school board member criticized the accidental deaths of three students, saying that alone was grounds for her dismissal. In two of those cases, the students died after school staffers did not immediately call 911 when the children experienced medical problems. The third drowned in a nearby pond after walking away from gym class. 

The board voted to terminate her contract, giving her a buyout package that amounted to about $1 million.

Here's more on how some parents of children with special needs felt about her:

Parents of children with special needs overwhelmingly spoke about how the school district was not serving their children. Many talked about how ESE, or the Exceptional Student Education program for children with special needs had failed. Several of those parents looked Elia directly in the eye and went so far as to point and yell into the microphone as they let their emotions about the schools be heard (LINK)

The one percenters loved her down in Florida but many parents and employees?

Not so much.

We'll learn more as the day goes on, but a preliminary look at MaryEllen Elia and her track record as Hillsborough superintendent suggests the Board of Regents will be making a huge mistake if they hire her.

She elicited strong feelings of either support or disdain from people in the Hillsborough district, but I think anybody who was tagged EVILia in a social media campaign by parents of special needs children is going to be a disaster as NYSED commissioner.

What message is the Board of Regents sending to New York parents and teachers by looking to hire somebody as divisive as MaryEllen Elia?

Andrew Cuomo Claims He's The Governor Of New York City

The ego of Sheriff Andy knows no bounds.

In another attempt to stick it to his "friend" Bill de Blasio, Cuomo has decided NYC is the perfect place for a state trooper barracks:

Gov. Cuomo is upping the ante in his battle with Mayor de Blasio — by putting a state-trooper barracks right in Hizzoner’s back yard, sources told The Post.

The governor recently sent a scouting team to Manhattan to pick a location for the new barracks, a move that sources say is clearly designed to get in Hizzoner’s face and under his skin.

“It’s just one more tit-for-tat thing between these two guys. This is [Cuomo] flexing his muscles. He said that he is also the governor of New York City,’’ a law-enforcement source told The Post.

“People are asking, ‘What would [the troopers’] responsibility be?’ Don’t forget, there are 36,000 NYPD cops. So what are they going to do? Nobody knows,’’ the source said.

Cuomo sent about 50 troopers to combat "the threat of homegrown, ISIS-affiliated terrorism" last fall.

The state houses those troopers in NYC hotels at the cost of $180 a night.

The Post says Cuomo now looks to double the number of troopers here in the city and keep them here permanently.

The clicker in all of this for me is this quote:

“It’s just one more tit-for-tat thing between these two guys. This is [Cuomo] flexing his muscles. He said that he is also the governor of New York City,’’ a law-enforcement source told The Post.

He's the governor of New York City.

Uh, huh.

Plummeting in approval ratings in both the Marist and Siena polls, falling in favorability ratings in both polls as well, Cuomo struts his stuff in a battle with de Blasio.

Pathetic.

Cuomo needs to grow up.

Cuomo Hits Low In Approval Rating In Siena Poll, 41%-59%

Just as the last Marist poll released two weeks ago showed Governor Andrew Cuomo hitting the lowest job approval numbers of his governorship, a Siena poll out today shows Cuomo hitting bottom on job approval.

His job approval/disapproval number is 41%-59% - and his favorability rating fell too:

“Cuomo, while still viewed favorably by a small majority of voters, has his lowest favorability rating since he's been governor. While his statewide favorability rating dropped by a net eight points in the last month, it fell by a net 19 points with New York City voters and a net 25 points with Republicans,” said Steve Greenberg, a spokesman for the Siena poll. “Similarly, Cuomo's job performance rating is also at an all-time low. More than twice as many voters say he's doing a poor job as compared to those who say he's doing an excellent job. Even Democrats are evenly divided, with 50 percent giving him a positive job performance rating and 49 percent rating him negatively. His job performance rating is significantly under water with Republicans, independents, downstate suburbanites and upstaters.”

I thought all the publicity Cuomo was garnering ministering to his partner, Sandra Lee, both pre-and post-cancer surgery might have turned around his numbers a bit.

But the Siena poll was taken May 18-21 - right during the height of the Sandra Lee PR (see here and here) - and Cuomo's ratings do not appear to have been affected positively by the pictures of Cuomo in a hospital gown ministering to Lee.

It will be interesting to see if there's a positive effect on Cuomo's numbers next time around.

In any case, Cuomo's not at lows in both the Marist and Siena polls - New Yorkers clearly do not like the job this governor is doing and more and more, they don't even really like him despite the PR attempts to humanize him.