Munich, 2010

UPDATED:

The dominoes keep falling as the UFT keeps appeasing and retreating.

We said that once the election was over the cataclysm would come and that the bigger the pro-Mulgrew vote, the worse it would be (how are things looking, New Action?). Rubber rooms, teacher evaluation systems based on test scores, the charter school cap - which will mean 460 mostly non-union schools.

OOPS: Only 214 schools in NYC, up from 100. So let me redo the math:

There are 1500+ schools so that comes to 1/8 of the system.
But we know when they will ask for another doubling when all these slots are filled we eventually get to 400 in NYC and then my numbers below work. Remember, Eva Moskowitz wants 40 schools so she can earn - let's see now, 370,000 for 4 schools - hmmmm, turning into a nice piece of change.

Watch public schools get drained of students and teachers. Coming layoffs in public schools will not only be due to a budget crisis. Imagine the staggering numbers. Chicago lost over 6000 teachers out of about 34,000 due to charter schools. Are we looking at a loss of 12-15,000 teachers here in NYC? What would seniority mean then when 400 charter schools are filled with first and second year teachers while public school teachers with goodness knows how many years go looking for jobs?

And by the way, as we know from history, the hits will not stop until the ed deformers get the entire arm: next they are coming for seniority and tenure protections. Do you think the NY State legislature will withstand those attacks, especially with pro-charter anti-teacher Cuomo as governor?

I know it looks bleak, but out of the ashes a real teacher movement can rise, allied with parents and students. Over the last year some very tentative alliances have been being built - fragile seeds that need nurturing or they could be stamped out at any moment. If you are one of those teachers who say, "Why should a union be worried about building alliances with students and parents, but should focus only on our needs?" - you better wake up. Until true community based alliances are built that are capable of putting up resistance that can battle the billions lined up against us, the ed deformers will get their way.

And then there is Chicago where if CORE wins the union election on June 11, the ball game begins anew.

Oh, and LA too:

LA teachers union won't sign state's grant app
The Associated Press
Posted: 05/28/2010

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles teachers union is refusing to sign the state's application for a federal school reform grant. United Teachers Los Angeles president A.J. Duffy said Friday that the grant might require the state to follow policies that would cost more in the long run than the one-time grants. The federal government is offering up to $700 million to states that propose specific and aggressive plans to improve schools. Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines says the Race to the Top grant would help pay for reforms that the district is already pursuing, like revamping teacher evaluations, using data to improve instruction and turning around struggling schools. Duffy says the federal money requires teacher evaluations to be tied to standardized test scores and the union believes that's not effective.

Add-ons:

Leonie Haimson Raises Questions on Charter School Cap Lift

UFT's Jackie Bennett on Charter Attrition Rates (at Edwize, remember them?)

(I know I bash the UFT a lot but Jackie so often put out quality work.)

Gary B. does it again:
Charter CAP Law Drives Mob to Go Non-Profit

May 29, 2010 (GBN News): In an unprecedented step, five major Mafia crime families in New York have joined forces to register with the Federal Government as a 501(c) non-profit corporation, GBN News has learned. The surprise move was reportedly precipitated by yesterday’s NY State Legislature vote raising the charter school cap. The new law doubles the number of charter schools allowed in the state, but precludes any for-profit organizations from running them. Without pursuing non-profit status, the Mafia would have had to abandon plans to move into the lucrative charter school market. Click to read it all