Cuomo Teamed Up With Republicans Against Democrats On Rent Regulations, Charter School Policy, Money For Private Schools

Fred Dicker in the Post:

Despite public claims to the contrary, Gov. Cuomo worked behind-the-scenes with the Republican-led Senate to defeat Assembly Democrats on such key “progressive” initiatives as tenant rights and a minimum-wage hike, knowledgeable insiders have told The Post.

Cuomo, the de facto head of the state Democratic Party, defeated a range of Democrat-sponsored proposals supposedly on his agenda through a “two-against-one” strategy in which he allied with Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk) against Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), leaving Heastie no choice but to fold, the sources said.

“Throughout the negotiations, there was never any real difference between the positions of Cuomo and Flanagan. It was two against one with Cuomo pulling Flanagan’s strings to corner Heastie,” said a source with direct knowledge of the secret end-of-session deal-making.

The source said Cuomo and the Senate GOP also worked to force Heastie to accept an expansion of charter schools for New York City and additional state aid to parochial schools, proposals Heastie and the Assembly’s other leaders repeatedly opposed.

“Not that there should have been, but if there was any doubt that Senate Republicans are nothing but a tool of Cuomo to use against his fellow Democrats, there isn’t anymore,’’ the source complained.

This isn't a surprise - anyone watching closely over the past few years knew this was what Cuomo was doing and what he was going to do in the final days of the legislative session.

But it's good to get this in print, even if it's anonymously sourced in Fred Dicker's column.

I'll have more on this story later because Dicker reports that one of Cuomo's primary motivations to work with Republicans against Democrats was to screw de Blasio - just cuz', you know?

Says an awful lot about Andrew Cuomo, alpha male, that a primary motivation in policy-making is remaining top dog.

In any case, if Cuomo still harbors any national political ambitions as a Democrat, his work with Republicans against his fellow Democrats, becoming more and more naked as his governorship goes on, ought to dispel them.

He literally now is seen as "New York's Republican governor," as one tenant activist put it last week after Cuomo screwed NYC residents by siding with Senate Republicans over Assembly Dems on rent regulation.

What Changes Have Been Made To The Charter Cap?

Since the details of the "framework" that Cuomo, Heastie, and Flanagan agreed to for the end-of-the-session legislation have yet to be put into writing, no one's quite sure what the hell is in it.

It seems some details that were released a couple of days ago may still be up for negotiation - including the charter cap.

Here's the Buffalo News on that:

Sources say the property tax rebate program, as well as a deal to extend the state’s property tax cap program for an additional four years, were no longer subject to the kind of thorny negotiations still taking place over other issues at the Capitol.

But there was a furious round of last-minute negotiating Wednesday over the New York City rent-control laws and a program that provides tax incentives for downstate developers. Additionally, the sides were still discussing provisions relating to giving New York City several additional charter schools. The existing state cap on new charter schools would not be raised, but the charters of several shuttered schools upstate, including in Buffalo, would be transferred for use in New York City.

So how many new charters end up in NYC?

Still a little fuzzy, it seems.

Success Academy Board Member Daniel Loeb Hosts $5,000 A Head Fundraiser For Andrew Cuomo

Governor Cuomo came through for charter schools once again this legislative session, raising the charter cap by 180 and imposing a ton of new mandates on public schools that do not count for charters (i.e., the teacher evaluation system.)

And so the charter school supporters will pay Cuomo back for his political largesse:

Hedge fund manager and charter school advocate Daniel Loeb is standing by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

On the evening of Saturday July 11, he and his wife Margaret Munzer Loeb will host a fund-raiser for Cuomo at their residence in East Hampton, according to an invitation sent out to multiple donors and acquired by Capital.

Individual tickets for what is billed as an "intimate reception" will cost $5,000 each, though host committee sponsorships "are available."

Loeb had no comment as to why he was fund-raising for the governor.

He and his wife have donated to the governor in the past.

The Third Point C.E.O. serves on the board of StudentsFirstNY, a pro-charter advocacy group whose board members also include former schools chancellor Joel Klein and Success Academy Charter Schools founder Eva Moskowitz.

Loeb also chairs Success Academy's board and is one of Moskowitz's most stalwart supporters and defenders.

The hedge fund managers/charter school supporters started paying Cuomo off with cash before he ran for governor and it continues all the way until today.

He's gotten more than $4.8 million dollars in contributions from 570 hedge fund managers since 2000.

In addition, some of those same hedge fund managers contributed millions to a charter school shell group called Families For Excellent Schools that ran ads and lobbied for charter causes on Cuomo's behalf. FES was the winner in "Who Spent The Most Money Lobbying?" competition, dropping $9.7 million in 2014 on lobbying expenditures.

Then there was the shadowy group called the Committee To Save New York that spent millions on pro-Cuomo ads touting the governor's agenda. The group raised $12 million dollars from just 20 donors to help Cuomo out politically.

CSNY closed up shop when the law was changed and donors and contributors had to be revealed, but you can bet that there were some of the same names on the CSNY list that are on the Families For Excellent Schools, Students FirstNY and Success Academies list.

And let's not forget that StudentsFirstNY helped create New Yorkers For A Balanced Albany, an independent expenditure committee that dropped $4.2 million in support of a Republican takeover of the New York State Senate - having Republicans in charge in the state Senate has helped Cuomo push through his pro-charter, anti-public school agenda.

Judging from how much they've paid him over the years and how they continue to pay him now, shilling for charter schools and education has been a very profitable enterprise for Andrew Cuomo.

As Expected, Cuomo Screws NYC Renters And Schools

The inevitable Cuomo screw job on rent regulation came today:

New York City loses tens of thousands of affordable apartments each year to deregulation. Under the "framework" of an agreement to extend rent laws announced today by Governor Cuomo and the two leaders of the state legislature, the city will keep on losing them.

At a press conference this afternoon, the "Three Men In A Room," told reporters that the city's recently expired rent laws would be renewed for four more years.

Earlier this month, the Assembly passed a bill that would repeal the state's vacancy decontrol law, which allows landlords to jack up the rent on regulated apartments as soon as a tenant leaves and perpetuates a system of inequality.

That change was eliminated.

Instead, the leaders promised to do what they did in 2011: modestly increase the rent at which a rent-regulated apartment could be deregulated, from $2,500 to $2,700.

Reaction from Alliance for Tenant Power's Katie Goldstein:

Our worst fears about Governor Cuomo have been confirmed. He took no action at all to strengthen the rent laws. Cuomo made empty promises and lied repeatedly while helping the Senate Republicans advance a bill that is a massive giveaway to landlords. Cuomo’s Republican deal on rent will harm and endanger countless low-income and working-class households. Up to 100,000 rent-regulated apartments will be lost over the next four years because of Cuomo’s Republican deal. This four-year extender does nothing to empower tenants. In fact, it leaves the most vulnerable even more susceptible to landlord harassment and skyrocketing rents. Cuomo should change his party registration to Republican because he is not worthy of the Democratic Party and its most basic values. Cuomo will suffer big political consequences for his betrayal of tenants and Democrats and for solidifying his status as a Republican Governor.

We were right to challenge Cuomo at every turn and not trust him throughout our campaign for stronger rent laws. Cuomo never had any intention of introducing his own pro-tenant bill. We will now lose many more rent-regulated units because of Cuomo’s failure to deliver for tenants and for working families. Today Cuomo alienated and angered millions of New Yorkers. We look forward to helping a strong Democrat defeat Cuomo if he foolishly tries to run for a third term as Governor.

In addition to the screw job to tenants, Cuomo stuck it to public schools too - raising the charter cap by 180 (50 for the city, but since the statewide cap is nowhere near full, expect that some or all of those rest-of-the-state slots end up in NYC in the end), giving $250 million to private schools and extending the property tax cap for 4 years.

Another end-of-the-session screw job from Cuomo.

When do "liberals" in NYC finally abandon Andrew Cuomo and make him pay politically for screwing them?

Charter Cap Raised, Education Tax Credit Not In Legislative Agreement

State of Politics reports that Cuomo and the leaders of the respective houses in the legislature have a framework agreement "in concept" that extends rent control and the property tax cap for four years while it extends mayoral control of NYC schools for just one year.

In addition, there is this:

The cap on charter schools will be raised by 50 in the city and 130 elsewhere in the state.

And this:

The education tax credit — which was being pushed by private and parochial school backers, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan — was not agreed to, either. Instead, lawmakers and Cuomo announced a $250 million reimbursement program for mandated services at private and parochial schools.

More as we get it.

Cuomo Looking To Make It Easier For Charters To Reject Or Kick Out Students?

From Zack Fink, writing at State of Politics, over the end-of-session logjam between Governor Cuomo, the Assembly and the state Senate:

The Governor and Flanagan also want to make it even easier for charter schools to reject, and even kick out, students who don’t do well academically and might tarnish the pretty statistics charter schools often paint to suggest they present a much better alternative to traditional public schools.

But I thought the miracle workers at the charter schools had so much to teach the "failing" public schools about student "success."

If the governor and the senate majority leader want to make it easier for charters to reject or kick out students who don't do well academically, then it seems all the "success-meisters" at the charters have to teach us in public schools is that the key to success is attrition and a gatekeeping admissions policy.

Anybody else out there hearing that Cuomo and Flanagan want to give charters more freedom to dump or keep out students they don't want?

Carl Heastie: Senate Republicans Love Charters - Just Not In Their Own Districts

State of Politics:

Heastie on Friday reiterated the Assembly’s reticence to support lifting the cap on charter schools, which Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has linked to an extension of mayoral control in New York City.

“For the most part, the Assembly conference are not big supporters of charter schools,” Heastie said. “Charters are something Senate Republicans like to support. They never want them in their district.”

Indeed, John Flanagan loves charters - and charter school money.


How many charter schools are there on Long Island, where Flanagan is from?

Just five.

Flanagan and his fellow Senate Republicans from Long Island sure do love their charters - just not in their own districts.

John Flanagan Introduces Bill To Raise Charter Cap

From State of Politics:

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has introduced a stand-alone bill designed to raise the charter cap by 100 and remove geographic distinctions between the statewide and citywide limit for those schools.

The bill would allow potential charter schools to choose which entity authorizes them: Either the Board of Regents or the State University of New York.

Flanagan’s measure would allow charters to re-enter the “pool” of available charters should a school close.

Based on the number of schools that have closed or are closing, one analysis shows 184 new charter schools could be authorized by the bill.

No match for the bill in the Assembly, but given the great linkage of bills that is expected soon, with rent regulation, the education tax credit, the 421-a, et al. all possibly thrown into one mish-mosh and passed, it's pretty conceivable the charter cap will see an increase as part of the mish-mosh too.

We're told Assembly Dems are still resisting the tax credit, but I don't put too much hope in the heavy hearts to hold the line any more.

As for the charter cap, I have even less hope they'll hold the line on that.

But we'll see.

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?

Has The Assembly Effectively De-Linked A Mayoral Control Extension From The Charter Cap Increase And Cuomo's Voucher Program?

A Capital NY piece by Bakeman and Shapiro reports the Assembly hopes they have:

ALBANY—State Assembly Democrats have effectively backed down from a fight over mayoral control of New York City schools.

It was generally expected heading into the final phase of the 2015 legislative session that much of the late-session political deal-making would involve renewing the state law that empowers Mayor Bill de Blasio to lead the nation’s largest public school district. The law, like the session, sunsets in June.

But the Assembly majority has decided to prioritize strengthening rent regulations, opting to take the path of least resistance on mayoral control. The Assembly on Monday passed a law extending the power for three years—not the seven years originally proposed, let alone the permanent extension de Blasio has sought.

Members also hoped to prevent an attempt by Governor Andrew Cuomo to link the extension of mayoral control to his end-of-session agenda, which includes lifting a cap on charter schools and establishing a tax credit for donations to private schools.

More on why the three year extension is a move to de-link mayoral control from the charter cap or Cuomo's voucher program:

In interviews, de Blasio administration officials and Albany lawmakers agreed that a three-year extension was the easiest way to maintain the current system of mayoral control without significant changes, a win for de Blasio.

And by not picking a battle with Cuomo over mayoral control, the Assembly and de Blasio may have more leverage on issues like the tax credit, and, of particular interest to de Blasio, the charter cap. De Blasio has repeatedly said he does not believe the cap on charters should be lifted, even as influential charter groups have intensified their calls for a lifting of the charter cap.

Charter advocates and education observers have said they believed the cap and mayoral control would be linked at the end of the session as a way to create pressure on both sides to pass versions of each proposal; that configuration seems unlikely if the extension passes.

The question is, do the Senate and Cuomo go for the de-linked extension?

There are 15 days to go in the session, Cuomo's taking time off after Sandra Lee's cancer surgery, and there are a lot of unresolved issues left to deal with, including rent regulations and the 421-a tax giveaway to the real estate industry.

On top of that, rumors continue to swirl that Governor Cuomo is a target of US Attorney Preet Bharara and he is enjoying his lowest approval numbers of his tenure as governor.

If ever there was a time when the heavy hearts in the Assembly could hold fast on a number of issues, from the charter cap to the Cuomo voucher plan, it is now.

But will they?

The Charter Cap

The NY Post reports charter entrepreneurs and advocates want the extension of NYC mayoral control (something Mayor de Blasio wants) tied to the elimination of the charter school cap (something de Blasio doesn't want.)

The Post also reports that charter advocates have an up-hill battle this year to get the cap raised:

The Democratic-controlled Assembly has already drafted a bill to give the mayor three more years of oversight over the city’s school system.

But there’s no sentiment there to add 100 more charter schools, as Gov. Cuomo has proposed and the mayor has opposed.

One insider declared bluntly that there was “no chance” of that happening.

“There is still plenty of room under the cap,” said Michael Whyland, a spokesman for ­Assembly Democrats.

Normally I'd say charter entrepreneurs get what they want whenever they want, so the cap hike is a done deal.

But this is a strange year.

First off, both the Assembly speaker and the Senate majority leader have been hauled out on criminal charges and replaced with newbies who have less control of their conferences.

Second, Governor Cuomo, a huge advocate of charter schools in the past, is weakened, enjoying the lowest job approval numbers of his governorship (just 37% approval), and is taking some time away from his duties next week to help his consort Sandra Lee through cancer surgery.

Cuomo has put some of his diminished political capital to a backdoor tax voucher plan for private schools and charter schools, leaving less political capital to fight for a cap hike.

Third, much of the legislative session was hijacked by US Attorney Preet Bharara, with Bharara arresting former Assembly Speaker Silver right after Cuomo's state of the state/budget speech, then arresting former Senate Majority Leader Skelos about a month after the budget deadline.

There is very little time left before the end of the session and much of the air in the legislative session has been taken out by the arrests, wiretaps, leaks and other corruption-related matters.

This is not to say that there won't be a late inning deal to raise the charter cap or at least shift how the cap works so that some of the upstate slots can be moved down to NYC and make Eva Moskowitz very, very happy.

But whereas in past years I'd say the likelihood of that was 100%, this time around, given all the damage from the corruption cases and given the rumors that swirl that Governor Cuomo is next on the fed list for arrest, the legislature getting anything done on the cap is far from certain.

Rumor has it that many items that were left outstanding during the budget negotiations (like rent control, 421-a tax abatements, mayoral control) will simply get a one-year extender and be addressed more fully next year.

If that's the case, then it's hard to see how the cap gets addressed in any substantive way this year, especially since there's still 25 slots left in NYC and hundreds more left in the rest of the state.

We'll see - the charter entrepreneurs want what they want and they have plenty of money to throw around to get it.

And we should never expect the heavy hearts in the Assembly to stand fast when there's always an opportunity to cave on an issue and blame it on somebody else.

Contradictory Findings On Testing, Teacher Evaluations In New Quinnipiac Poll, But Not On Charter Schools

The Quinnipiac poll out this afternoon finds New York City voters are opposed to evaluating teachers via test scores 57%-37%.

It also finds 59% of New York City voters saying that standardized tests do not accurately measure student learning while 34% say they do.

Seems New York City voters are squarely skeptical on the value and use of standardized testing.

Yet when asked "How much should these tests count in a teacher's evaluation: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or not at all?", they respond:

100% - 7%
75%   - 13%
50%   - 26%
25%   - 27%
Not     - 22%

Wait - I thought NYers were opposed to evaluating teachers via test scores 57%-37%...how is it that 74% of the respondents also say that teachers should be evaluated via test scores somewhere between 25% and 100%?

A contradiction for sure. 

Similarly, when asked if students should be allowed to refuse to take the "standardized tests to measure how well they're learning", the poll finds 47% say they should be allowed to refuse, 49% say they shouldn't be allowed to refuse.

Odd, that - 59% say the tests do not accurately measure student learning, but 49% want to force students to take them anyway.

Perhaps the issue with the refusal question comes in how it's asked - the tests are described as measuring "how well students learn," though many critics of the state testing regime dispute that.

It would be interesting to see what the responses would be if the tests were either not described or if there were something along the lines of "Proponents say these tests measure how well students learn while critics say they are badly designed and show no such thing."

In any case, in many ways polling is reductionist, taking complex issues and sticking them into a few round peg responses.

The biggest value to me in polling is the trends you see with a particular politician or issue over the course of a few polls.

The testing and evaluation questions are new, so we don't have trend lines, but we do with charter schools.

On the issue of paying rent if they're co-located, here are the trend lines:

March 2014: Yes - 44%   No - 47%
Nov    2014   Yes - 50%   No - 41%
May    2015   Yes - 52%  No  - 40%

There's a clear trend here - support for making charters pay rent is up 8 points to a majority 52%, opposition to making charters pay rent is down 7 percent.  A 12 margin yes/no is pretty significant.

On raising the charter cap, here are the trend lines:

March 2014: Increase - 40% Decrease - 14% Keep the same - 39%
Nov     2014: Increase - 43% Decrease - 17% Keep the same - 31%
May     2015: Increase - 39% Decrease - 17% Keep the same - 35%

Here the trend is not so pronounced, but it is constant - there is no growing clamor for more charter schools. 

The support for increasing the number of charters is at the lowest level in the last three polls, the support for decreasing the number of charters remains where it was last time and the support for keeping things as they are is halfway between the last two poll findings.

Charter entrepreneurs and operators like to say there is a huge demand for more charters, but the last three Q polls don't show that at all.

In March 2014, 53% of NYers said they either wanted to keep the number of charters the same or decrease them while 40% said they wanted more.

In November 2014, 49% of NYers said they either wanted to keep the number of charters the same or decrease them while 43% said they wanted more.

In May 2015, 52% of NYers say they want to keep the number of charters the same or decrease them while 39% say they want more.

I hope Quinnipiac continues to ask the testing and evaluation questions over the next few years so we can see trends with those issues the way we can with charters.

What I see in the charter trend lines is growing support for making co-located charters pay their own way and no growing clamor to increase the number of charters.

Jeff Klein Wants To Put A Charter School Parent On The City Panel For Educational Policy

This isn't a surprise - IDC head/traitor Jeff Klein is carrying water for his charter school donors:

ALBANY — The head of a breakaway group of five Senate Democrats wants to extend by five years the law authorizing mayoral control over the New York City school system, with some key changes, the Daily News has learned.

"I believe in mayoral control," Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) told The News. "Something as important as education, the mayor should be the deciding factor. But I think this plan is a way to make some changes that ensures mayoral control continues."

Perhaps the most controversial proposal would require the mayor for the first time to appoint a parent of a charter school student to the advisory Panel for Educational Policy.

Under the current law, which expires next month, the mayor has eight appointees to the 13-member panel — at least two of which are required to be parents with children in a New York City public school.

Klein says requiring another appointee to be a charter school parent — a move sure to be opposed by Mayor de Blasio and some of his fellow legislative Democrats — would be an acknowledgment of the movement's place in the city's education fabric.

"This will ensure that the concerns of this growing population of school children will be heard at the PEP," a memo outlining Klein's proposed legislation says.

I suspect any extension of mayoral control will be tied to an increase in the charter cap as well.

This is assuming anything gets done in Albany in the next six weeks.

With Senate Majority Leader Skelos yet to step down, with the fight still on to see who replaces him and with the feds still wiretapping a whole swath of Albany, nothing's a done deal these days.

Not to mention that mobbed-up Jeff Klein himself could get carted away by the feds.

Will The Charter Cap Get An Increase In The Waning Days Of The Legislative Session?

Senate Majorty Leader Dean Skelos has been arrested on six criminal counts and support for his remaining in the majority leader position is cratering but that hasn't stopped Skelos from listing his priorities for the rest of the legislative session:

Skelos reiterated his support for a permanent cap on property taxes and noted the chamber will debate an extension of mayoral control of New York City schools, saying it should “not be renewed as it is.”
 
Skelos also pushed for the education investment tax credit as well as to finish the remaining agreed-upon measures in the Women’s Equality Agenda.

He expressed concern with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s creation of a wage board to increase the state minimum wage for fast-food workers.

My guess is, charter proponents will look to link extension of mayoral control (something Mayor de Blasio wants) to a charter cap increase (something Mayor de Blasio doesn't want.)

So even though Skelos didn't directly mention a charter cap increase, it's implicit in the part of the statement about NYC mayoral control only getting an extension with revisions.

I can't imagine, even during a legislative session that has seen heads of both legislative houses arrested on criminal charges, that the charter school operators won't put the squeeze on legislators to make sure that they're taken care of before the end of the session.

State Senator John Flanagan Treats Public Education Like A Game

His words, not mine:

ALBANY—The State Senate may not extend mayoral control of New York City schools, let alone make it permanent, according to a prominent Republican senator.

Mayoral control in New York City and possibly other cities will be a prominent issue during the rest of the legislative session.

Some education reform advocates are advocating that the renewal of mayoral control in the city be linked to lifting or eliminating the state’s cap on charter schools.

“The games are beginning right now in earnest,” Flanagan said during the interview.

The games?

What is this, the Olympics?

I understand GOP senators want to stick it to de Blasio for trying to turn the State Senate to the Dems, so they're looking to extract some blood from de Blasio in exchange for a renewal of mayoral control.

But really, to say "the games are beginning right now in earnest," that really puts into perspective what Flanagan thinks about public education and education policy.

It's all a "game" to him.

You can be sure if this were Mayor Bloomberg looking for the renewal - you know, the same Mayor Bloomberg that gave all that money to Senate Republicans - he'd be treating mayoral control renewal differently.

George Carlin used to say, language always gives you away.

The language that Flanagan's using here certainly does.

What Gets Done With Dean Skelos Under Federal Investigation?

Not much, writes Ken Lovett:

With state lawmakers due back in Albany on Tuesday after a three-week break, many expect the probe into Skelos will cause paralysis for the remainder of the legislative session.

Issues such as the expiring laws governing rent regulation and mayoral control over New York City schools will have to be addressed, but most expect little else of consequence to get done.

Some close to Gov. Cuomo say he’s likely not thrilled at the prospect of having to negotiate with Skelos with a possible indictment looming.

Quite frankly, given the damage already done by Cuomo and the legislature, the less they do for the rest of the session, the better.

Lovett writes that rent regulation and mayoral control of NYC schools have to be addressed, but I would bet the charter cap gets lifted too.

No matter how "paralyzed" Albany is, I bet they're not so paralyzed that they can't give Eva Moskowitz and the rest of the charter school entrepreneurs and their hedge fund supporters what they want.

Report From TWC News: Charter Cap, Receivership, Teacher Tenure Are Out Of The Budget Talks

Zack Fink writing at State of Politics:

The conversation on education reform in the State Budget appears to have shifted. Sources say last night Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Governor Cuomo had a long talk about some of the Governor’s policy proposals and now, finally, there seems to be some movement on the budget.

Assembly Democrats conferenced the proposed changes this afternoon, which include taking charter schools out of the discussion. Governor Cuomo had wanted to raise the cap to allow more charters, but as of now that will be taken up at another time, likely later in the session. The Governor also appears to be backing away from his insistence that “failing” schools be placed into a receivership. Democrats staunchly oppose this. Weakening teacher tenure is also on the chopping block ( Cuomo wanted to make it harder for teachers to gain tenure ) and a formula for teacher evaluations is still being worked out. Democrats described the overall mood on budget talks as “very different.” No longer was Cuomo taking a “storm-the-beach” approach on his controversial education reforms. Many of those ideas have now been “uncoupled” from the revenue appropriations they were attached to. That paves the way for compromise, and an on time budget, at least within the the world of Democrats who had loathed the Governor’s approach. But of course, Republicans still need to come around on ethics, if the budget is actually going to be on time.

So, what changed? a couple of things…for one, sources say Cuomo was losing the war against teachers. First there was the poll last week showing his approval rating at the lowest it has ever been. Then there was the Siena poll that showed the public isn’t really with him on this one. Finally, there are the teacher’s unions, NYSUT and UFT, who successfully painted Cuomo as the enemy of teachers. From the campaign to demonstrate he has spent no time in schools as Governor, to the billboards on the Thruway telling Cuomo he needs to listen to to teachers, it all adds up to a losing battle for the Governor.

Not for nothing, but if you are going to take on an entrenched group like the teacher’s union in this state, you gotta be ready to really go to war. That includes a TV ad blitz, which was noticeably absent in this particular fight. Cuomo’s buddy Chris Christie successfully turned the public against the NJEA in New Jersey, but he did so after first coming into office in 2010, when his political clout was at its highest. It was also during the great recession when antipathy toward public unions living-large-on-the-public-dime was at an all-time high.

Then there is the ethics reform. Last week, Cuomo successfully pulled Speaker Heastie into the fold on ethics when they announced a two-way agreement which left Senate Republicans on the sidelines. This was immortalized by the hug-heard-round the world. ( This photo appears to have been taken after the two leaders won their field hockey game. They then apparently went back to the mansion and watched “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and shared a good cry. Next week, it’s an all “Fried Green Tomatoes,” and “Steel Magnolias” marathon. Btw – I’m totally kidding about everything I just wrote in parenthesis…Heastie actually HATES “Steel Magnolias.”)

Once the Governor had the Democrats on ethics reform, he was able to squeeze the Republicans a bit. But of course, no one gets everything they want. And to bring the Dems on board for ethics, meant sacrificing something on education. Heastie and his members couldn’t live with what Cuomo wanted in terms of ed reform. Cuomo needed ethics to be his top priority following the arrest of former Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Rumor has been that Assembly Dems agreed to ethics reforms for Cuomo and Cuomo agreed to drop the education reforms in return.

Given how Cuomo has broken his word in the past (most recently on the Common Core safety net for APPR), until the budget agreement is completed, I wouldn't bet the mortgage on any of this.

Also, note that teacher evaluation changes still remain in the budget talks:

A formula for teacher evaluations is still being worked out

Hard to know what that will be.

Last night I posted that according to the NT2 blog, Mulgrew was having his own discussions with Cuomo's people.

He may be helping to work out the "formula" for evaluation changes.

If I remember correctly, he was touting the John King-imposed APPR system NYC has as something the whole state should get.

At any rate, there's a lesson here that mobilizing parents and teachers for public protests and running ads aimed at taking the governor down a few pegs can work wonders with the public.

Don't think the charter folks are taking this lying down, btw.

They've gone up with their own pro-Cuomo/pro-ed deform ads to try and change the trajectory of the education story before the budget is completed.

You can bet they'll look to get the cap raised, and if it doesn't come now in the budget, they'll look to get it later.

In any case, as I wrote above, until this is a done deal, I wouldn't put any money on anything anyway.

With NYSUT and the UFT in charge, there's always a good chance they'll steal defeat from the jaws of victory.

But for now, it looks like the governor may have blinked because he needed an ethics deal with the Assembly Dems and they wanted - and got - something in return.

We'll see.

Cuomo Job Approval Falls In Siena Poll, Down To 43%

New Yorkers do not like the job Governor Andrew Cuomo is doing.

His job approval rating has fallen to 43% in the latest Siena poll, down from 44% in the last poll.

His personal favorability rating remains high - it's at 57% - but that number has dropped since the last poll too.

As for his policies, well, they're not any more positive than his job approval numbers.

80% disagree with his policy to delete emails after 90 days.

77% disagree with his upstate Hunger Games competition that has 7 regions competing for 3 pots of state gold.

Majorities of New Yorkers want both ethics reform and education policy negotiations stripped from the budget and completed on their own.

And New Yorkers back teachers unions over Cuomo 51%-40% in the education battle.

(The Q poll had voters backing teachers over Cuomo 55%-28% last week, but the question was asked a little differently in that poll, perhaps accounting for the difference in findings.)

In all, another bad poll for Cuomo as we get near the budget deadline.

He is weakened, his policies are unpopular and New Yorkers do not like the job he is doing as governor.

Alas, instead of taking advantage of this weakness, word is, Mike Mulgrew is "negotiating" with Cuomo on education policy himself.

Long-time readers of this blog know just how dangerous that story, if true, is.

There show be NO compromise with Cuomo on education.

The public is with us in the battle against Cuomo.

Cuomo Says Sheldon Silver And Teachers Union Are Running The Assembly

Coming just a couple of days after newly-minted Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie gave Governor Cuomo everything he wanted on ethics reform (i.e., reform for legislature, not for executive or girlfriend of said executive) comes this report from Ken Lovett at the Daily News:

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is telling his political backers he believes that indicted ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is still calling the shots in the chamber, the Daily News has learned.

Cuomo made the comments at a closed-door breakfast with members of his campaign finance committee, according to a source with direct knowledge of the statements.

Cuomo was bemoaning the fact that nothing has changed since Silver was forced to resign his leadership post in early February after being hit with federal corruption charges, the source said.

Cuomo, the source said, described new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie as Silver's "instrumentality" in keeping power.

The governor claimed that Silver, who remains in the Assembly, is still ruling through his team that Heastie has left in place, notably counsel James Yates and Program and Policy Secretary Lou Ann Ciccone.

The source said that Cuomo added that Silver also has his imprint at City Hall through de Blasio's budget director Dean Fuleihan, a former longtime Silver aide.

"Shelly and the teachers union run everything through Fuleihan, Yates and Lou Ann," the source quoted Cuomo as saying.

And just in case you think the anonymous report might be b.s., here was Cuomo's reaction to the report:

A Cuomo spokeswoman didn't confirm or deny that the governor made the comments. Instead, she declined comment.

The Assembly looks like they won't give Cuomo everything he wants on education reform - it appears the power he wants to take over "failing" schools and districts won't be part of the budget, though changes to the evaluation system, a lift to the charter cap, more money for charters and tenure changes do seem like they are on tap.

This despite the fact that the public backs teachers over Cuomo 55%-28% and Cuomo has a 63% disapproval rating for his handling of education.

So dunno why Cuomo is grousing - given how low he's fallen in polls (below water in the Siena poll, at the waterline in the Quinnipiac poll) and given how much protest his ed agenda has engendered around the state, that he's going to get as much of his agenda as he is is a major freaking victory.

As always, hope to be wrong believing that the Assembly, backed by the unions, will cave to him on evals, tenure, and charters.

But all indication is, that's what's coming.

Going To Be A Fun Day For A Rally

Amusing headline from Capitol Confidential on the weather for tomorrow's charter school rally in Albany:

Weather update, or: Does Mother Nature hate charter schools?

This just in from the Capitol Confidential weather desk: It’s going to be a miserable day for a rally tomorrow.

Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter school network is poised to descend upon the Capitol for a massive outdoor rally Wednesday as charter groups and public education advocates square off again this year amid bold education proposals from the governor. Last year’s event was freezing cold but sunny and featured Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and thousands of smiling children.

This year’s rally? Snow, sleet, rain, wind, mud, clouds, that perfect temperature zone where you think it’s going to be warmer than it actually is. Yeah, it’s going to be one of those late-winter upstate days.

From Eva's perspective, the worse the weather is, the more it reflects positively on the "grit" of her "scholars" and their families.

Looks like they'll be plenty of opportunity to show some "grit" tomorrow.