Vote NO On Cuomo's Smart Schools Bond Act

Gary Stern at LoHud does a great job of giving both sides of the Smart Schools Bond Act story.

Here's why critics are opposed to Cuomo's technology bond for schools:

Opponents of the bond act say that borrowing $2 billion to pay for computers and other items with limited life spans would be an unprecedented move that has not been supported by analysis.

Nicholas Tampio of Mamaroneck, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University who has tried to incite opposition to the bond act, said money from the bond act will ultimately tie districts to the state's agenda. The state Education Department's goal, he said, is for districts to prepare for online tests aligned to the Common Core.

"School districts face a choice: Submit investment plans that (state Education Commissioner) John King wants or relinquish any chance of having the plan approved," Tampio said. "And what John King wants is the technological infrastructure to support online Common Core testing."

If the bond act is approved, each district would be eligible to receive a set amount based on the state's aid formula. But districts would need to have spending plans approved by a high-powered review board consisting of King, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and state Budget Director Robert Megna.

And:

E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, a conservative think tank in Albany, has been the most prominent critic of the bond act. He said Cuomo has no research that proves New York needs to borrow $2 billion for school tech.

"There was no assessment of need and no one asked for this," he said. "This is the most ill-conceived and wasteful bond act to be put in front of New York voters in 30 or 40 years."

He noted that the state Board of Regents, which sets educational policy, has not endorsed the bond act.

"The governor treats the need for this as self-evident: Tech is good," McMahon said.

Why in the world would anybody want to vote for a $2 billion dollar boondoggle bond act that gives John King and Nancy Zimpher the right to approve or reject what districts do with the money?

You can be sure King and Zimpher, staunch Common Core proponents and testing advocates, will want every district to use the money for infrastructure for the PARCC (or some other online tests) to grade students, rate teachers and evaluate schools.

We ought to call this the Infrastructure For Online Computerized Testing Bond Act, because that's exactly what it is.

Don't be fooled, thinking much (or any, for that matter) of this money will go to building schools or getting rid of trailers in the city schools.

This is tech bond, pure and simple, meant to get the state up and running for the coming online PARCC tests.

Vote NO on the Proposition 3 on Tuesday.

Will Cuomo's Smart Schools Tech Boondoggle Bond Actually Pass?

It doesn't sound like anybody other than Cuomo and his tech buddies are actually supporting it:

When Cuomo first announced the bond act, school groups gave the proposal a lukewarm reception, arguing that any additional funding would be better spent to restore recent cuts in aid that have forced some districts to lay off teachers and eliminate programs.

“I know of no state education groups—or any groups, for that matter, that are actively advocating for passage of the act,” said David Albert, spokesman for the New York State School Boards Association.

”I've heard nothing about lobbying the bond act,” said Carl Korn, spokesman for New York State United Teachers.

The fiscally conservative Empire Center seems to be the only group actively lobbying on behalf of the bond proposal—and the think tank is decidedly against it.

“The annual payments on $2 billion in bonds could ultimately come to more than $130 million a year,” E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Cenrter, wrote in an op-ed in Wednesday’s New York Post. “A far better way to ‘equalize opportunities to learn’ would be to spend that money on added annual aid to public and charter schools serving the state’s neediest children.”

McMahon joins other financial experts in warning against the use of long-term debt to finance the purchase of products with short useful lives, as Capital has reported.

Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY reports that Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch was "lukewarm" in support of the bond and said she thought it was a mistake if the money from the bond was used on short-term tech projects:

Tisch agrees, saying on Wednesday that she hopes districts avoid investing in technology that will soon be obsolete.

“I am a believer that what’s potent in technology today, six months from now is on the shelf, an old hat,” she said. “So my hope is that districts … have a long range vision for what the best uses of technology are and use them masterfully to deliver a quality curriculum.”

Mark the calendar - here's one of the few times I agree with Merryl Tisch:

What's so-called cutting edge in technology today is old in six months and obsolete soon after.

It will be interesting to see if the Smart Schools Initiative passes.

With few actively lobbying for it, there won't be a ton of press or ads about it in the lead-up to the election.

I haven't seen any polling on the matter either.

So it's hard to say how voters will go with the bond next month.

But I will be actively campaigning against it.

That should sway, well, probably nobody.

Nonetheless, I cannot support the bond.

Cuomo and his tech buddies want the money for tech projects that, as Tisch notes, will be obsolete soon after they're completed.

We've seen this kind of boondoggle in L.A. where they spent infrastructure money on iPads.

The truth is, if this were going for real infrastructure - i.e., school buildings - I would support it.

But that's not where the money's going to go.

Instead most of it will be used for bandwidth and other tech upgrades to get the online state testing apparatus going.

It's interesting that Merryl Tisch is lukewarm about the bond when that's where the money's supposed to go.

Perhaps she looked at the L.A. iPad disaster and figured there's a better way to spend $2 billion in taxpayer money for education.

Cuomo Wants To "Bridge The Broadband Divide" At Same Time He Can't Pay For The Tappan Zee Bridge Project

It is becoming increasingly clear that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is building a $3.9 billion dollar replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge that has no funding source.

Cuomo tried to get half a billion in loans from the EPA clean water fund for the bridge, but that attempt was rejected yesterday.

Now people are worried that Cuomo will have to raise tolls on the Thruway and pull money from other sources in order to pay for the bridge.

Cuomo's administration has not released a financial plan for the funding of the bridge, though they do tout this bridge replacement and the speed with which it is being built as proof for how quickly Cuomo can get things done.

What I haven't seen connected to the bridge story yet is the bond act Cuomo is pushing this year to wire schools across the state with the technology needed for online computerized testing, which he calls the Smart Schools Initiative:

$2 Billion Smart Schools Bond Act Referendum November 4, 2014 – Proposal #3

In January 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called for New York State to invest $2 billion in its schools through a Smart Schools Bond Act that will build out schools and classrooms for the 21st Century to ensure that our students graduate with the skills they need to thrive in the economy of today and tomorrow.

Smart Schools Commission

Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, the Smart Schools Commission will lead a research effort into best practices into technology-enabled education and broadband connectivity efforts. In preparation for the Commission’s final report that will be developed in Fall 2014, we will invite local and national experts to present best practices for the Commission’s consideration over the coming months at public symposiums and Commission meetings.

Cuomo's selling this thing as an upgrade for school infrastructure, but what it's really is a boondoggle for his tech and edu-entrepreneur donors.

The upgrades are needed to run the computerized standardized tests the NYSED, the Regents and their Gates Foundation/ed reformer funders want in the near future.

Cuomo's Smart Schools Commission is meeting today:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Schools Public Symposium

WHAT: Public Symposium – Bridging the Broadband Divide in New York State 

WHEN: Wednesday , September 17, 2014 from 12 pm - 2 pm

WHERE: Fifth Floor Atrium, Clinical and Translational Research Center, University at Buffalo 875 Ellicott Street , Buffalo NY 14203

 Come hear from technology and education experts about innovative, successful approaches to school and community connectivity and technology - enabled education practices that can help to reimagine New York’s public schools for the 21st century.

It's ironic that Cuomo's looking to get state voters to pony up $2 billion to "bridge" the broadband divide when he can't find the $3.9 billion he needs to pay for the other bridge he's building at the same time - the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement.

I do hope voters reject Cuomo's Smart Schools bond boondoggle, since it's really about nothing other than getting schools wired for computerized testing.

But given the mess he's made with the Tappan Zee Bridge project, who knows where the money will actually end up if voters say yes to the bond.

Hell, if Cuomo can try and divert money meant for sewers and clean water to a bridge project, you can bet he might try and take money meant to "Bridge the Broadband Divide" and put that into other things as well.

Perhaps even a real bridge.

Although if it's between paying for a real bridge or "bridging the broadband divide" so they'll have the infrastructure for computerized testing, I suppose I'd rather they build a real bridge.

At least a real bridge would be useful.

Edu-Entrepreneurs And Lobbyists Flood Cuomo's "Smart Schools" Forum

Not a surprise - that "Smart Schools Commission meeting" I blogged about earlier was filled with edu-entrepreneurs and corporate lobbyists looking to feed off the public trough:

Rather than being filled solely with educators, many of the roughly 100 people who came to a Smart Schools Public Symposium earlier Monday were lobbyists and representatives of telecoms, networking companies, software and hardware providers as well as other businesses that service the Internet and its digital economy.

That’s because the symposium came amid the knowledge that voters this fall will decide on a $2 billion bond referendum which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has gotten on the ballot to, if it passes, modernize the state’s school buildings.

If the bond passes, these companies will be competing to equip schools with the latest broadband wiring and all that goes along with it.

And check out all the fun jargon, buzzwords and other bullshit Cuomo highlighted in his press release:

The Smart Schools Commission is charged with advising the State on how to best enhance teaching and learning through technology. The Governor instated the Commission in spring 2014 in order to reimagine New York’s public schools for the 21st Century. Access to advanced technology fosters a more interactive and personalized classroom experience while facilitating increased communication between parents, students, and teachers. Embracing innovation in education is an important step towards helping New York’s students gain the skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century economy.

...

The five experts highlighted to the Commission and community members the need and ability to: enrich the in-classroom learning experience by incorporating the use of tablets, laptops and smartphones; extend preparation for student instruction by using web-based software accessible at home, increase communication between the instructor and student’s guardian; provide more descriptive academic progress reporting; and to support these changes, build a robust network of high-speed broadband and wi-fi connectivity throughout New York’s public schools and communities. Challenges that the panel encouraged the Commission to address include the difficulty of providing broadband access to rural regions of Upstate New York and the initial implementation of new technology in the classroom.

In short, lots of yummy yummy taxpayer-provided funds for Cuomo's corporate criminal friends to gobble up - all so that we can envision and create "The Classroom of Tomorrow" today.

Sounds like the kind of claptrap I used to see hawked in "Tomorrowland" in Disney World when my parents took me there in the 70's.

Here's an idea - how about we create the "Classroom of Yesterday" when students used to read books, engage in discussions with peers and teachers and, golly, not stare at a freaking computer screen all day?

Nahh - no money to be made off that.

Because that's what this is all about, of course - funding a whole bunch of giveaways to Cuomo's corporate buddies and edu-entrepreneur friends while making believe he's "improving schools"!

Cuomo's Dumb Schools Initiative Meets Later In The Week

From State of Politics:

At 1 p.m., the first meeting about the broadband availability enhancement component of the Smart Schools Initiative will be held, Blue Room, second floor, state Capitol.

Seems like Cuomo's "Smart Schools Initiative" could have made Frederick Hess' 10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detector list:

Education is filled with jargon, buzzwords, and BS. I've had a lot of fun over the years skewering the inanity that gets bandied about in education research and professional development. Education policy and school reform are rife with their own vapid vocabulary.

It's worth flagging this stuff. Doing so reminds us that fatuous phrases don't make problems go away.  It helps puncture sugarplum visions fueled by hot air. Left unchallenged, pat phrases allow wishful thinking to stand in for messy realities. After all, these fatuous phrases are pervasive. Here are 10 phrases that, when heard, should cause listeners to ask the speaker to explain what he or she means, using words that actually mean something.

"Smart" as applied to "regulation" made it to #8 on the list:

8. "Smart regulation." (You know, as opposed to those championing "dumb regulation." A similar caution also applies to calls for "smart accountability," "smart teacher evaluation," or "smart" anything else. Attaching an adjective doesn't make problems go away.)

Let's add a similar caution to calls for a "Smart Schools Initiative." 

As Hess noted, education is filled with jargon, buzzwords and bullshit.

I would add, education in New York during the Cuomo/Tisch/King Era is REALLY filled with jargon, buzzwords and bullshit.

Cuomo Appoints Geoffrey Canada To Smart School Initiative Commission That Looks To Upgrade Classrooms For Online Testing

Another day, another Cuomo commission - this one a commission to make recommendations for what to do with $2 billion in "Smart School Initiative" bond money Cuomo hopes to get the public to pass in order to provide "smart classrooms" (i.e., classrooms wired for online testing) in schools:

Though voters are yet to consider a $2 billion bond act for education infrastructure and technology upgrades at New York schools, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday named a commission that would provide recommendations on how best to spend the money.

Included on the commission is Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman and former CEO of Google, a company that is best known for its search engine, but has also entered the laptop and tablet computer market in recent years.

In addition, Cuomo is also turning to Harlem Children’s Zone President and CEO Geoffrey Canada and Constance Evelyn, Superintendent of the Auburn School District in Cayuga County.

“It is a simple fact that disparity remains in our education system, with some schools providing tablets in the first grade and others where the most sophisticated piece of electronic equipment is the metal detector that students walk through on the way to the classroom,” Cuomo said in a statement. “In the State of the State, we called for a $2 billion Smart Schools Initiative to transform our classrooms from the classrooms of yesterday to the classrooms of tomorrow. This panel will help guide this bold initiative and reimagine our classrooms to provide New York’s students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy.”

The $2 billion borrowing proposal still has to be approved by voters, who are due to consider the ballot referendum this fall.

Cuomo proposed the bond act in January as way to improve technology in the classroom as well as potentially build more space for pre-Kindergarten programs.

Gotta love that Cuomo thinks it's a big plus that some districts are giving tablets to first graders - that tells you everything you need to know about how Cuomo is looking to have this bond money spent.

Strike one.

That he stuck Canada on the commission is strike two and the Google CEO is strike three for me.

I am opposing the Smart Schools Initiative because it's clear Cuomo plans to use the money as a boondoggle for his tech buddies, not to build new schools or provide more classroom space for smaller class sizes.

You know what smart classrooms are?

They're ones where students have the adequate resources to learn, including computer and Internet technology when appropriate, but also enjoy small class sizes and personalized contact with their teachers.

This is not what Cuomo plans to use the money for, however.

Rather, he seems to envision this: