Cathleen Black Waiver Hearing Completed In Albany
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Public School Parents Fighting for a Qualified Chancellor
See Victory in Court Challenge Against Commissioner Steiner
Earlier today, attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum appeared before Judge Gerald Connolly in the Albany County Supreme Court on behalf of 13 parent Petitioners and one teacher to challenge New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner's granting of a waiver to Cathleen Black so she may assume the office of Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. Ms. Black was nominated by Mayor Bloomberg on November 9, 2010 to succeed outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein. Commissioner Steiner granted the waiver on November 29.
The Petitioners, including New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn / District 57) and members of the Deny Waiver Coalition, have contended that Ms. Black does not have the qualifications necessary under New York State law to oversee the educational system that serves their children and, furthermore, that Commissioner Steiner misinterpreted State law and exceeded his authority in granting the waiver to Ms. Black.
The parents, educators, and community members now await the Court's decision, which may come before the end of the next week. Regardless of the outcome, however, the legal challenges to Steiner's waiver have already confirmed that Black's appointment by Mayor Bloomberg and the granting of the waiver by Commissioner Steiner represent a serious "disconnect" between these policymakers and the citizens they serve. New Yorkers recognize this problem and have opposed the appointment of Ms. Black by a margin of two-to-one. Since early November, the Deny Waiver Coalition has worked to make sure that the voices of all New Yorkers are heard.
As parent Petitioner Noah E. Gotbaum stated, "Parents and educators believe that this waiver has broken the law. We are hopeful that Judge Connolly will hold that Mayoral control stops at the courthouse steps." Gotbaum is the President of Community Education Council 3 in Manhattan.
Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum were joined by attorneys Roger Wareham and Eric Snyder, each representing additional New York City public school parents who are also challenging the Steiner waiver. Three separate Article 78 petitions challenging the waiver had been filed and were consolidated during the court hearing, which started at 9:30 AM.
The Office of the Attorney General and the Corporation Counsel had each responded to the anti-waiver petitions on behalf of New York State and New York City respectively. At the hearing, Ms. Kelly Minkowitz represented Attorney General Cuomo acting on behalf of Commissioner Steiner, the New York State Education Department, the New York State Board of Regents, and the University of the State of New York. Mr. Chlarens Orsland represented the Corporation Counsel's office acting on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York. During the hearing, all sides presented oral arguments and answered questions posed by Judge Connolly.
The Judge, who appeared to have reviewed all of the legal submissions thoroughly, did not specify when a decision would be forthcoming. Observers believe that it could be handed down as early as next week.
Prior to today's hearing, on Wednesday, December 22, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum filed their Memorandum of Law with the court in response to papers presented by the Attorney General's office and the Corporation Counsel. The Memorandum reinforced four points that were discussed during the Court hearing.
First, Commissioner Steiner could not provide a "substantially equivalent" qualification for Ms. Black that would "provide her with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience" in subject areas that Steiner himself identified as "critical," including educational standards, curriculum, staff development and turning around low-performing schools.
The fact that Commissioner Steiner improperly looked beyond Ms. Black's qualifications to the qualifications of potential staff in assessing whether or not she herself possessed the necessary knowledge and experience was the second argument. Third, nothing in the relevant State law provides for a waiver of the requirement that Ms. Black have earned a Master's degree or higher -- and she does not have one.
The fourth argument was the fact that the Petitioners' challenges to the waiver are only asking for appropriate enforcement of standards put in place by the New York State Legislature and the New York State Commissioner of Education, and that the Petitioners are not requesting extraordinary action by the Court.
Siegel and Teitelbaum referenced the fact that, in 1983, Education Commissioner Gordon M. Ambach fulfilled the intent and letter of the law when he refused to grant a similar waiver request on behalf of Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who actually had more extensive education and public policy experience than Ms. Black -- who has none -- but still not enough to meet the appropriate and legislated standard for the position of Chancellor.
As Commissioner Ambach stated in his decision, "The certification requirements are intended to assure that there is proper training and experience for educational leadership. The determination to be made by the Commissioner in any case where an exception to regular certification is requested is not whether there is potential for or promise of effective service by the candidate, but rather whether the candidate currently possesses 'exceptional training and experience which are the substantial equivalent of the stated requirements and which qualify such person for the duties of a superintendent of schools.' "
To the extent that there were no surprises during the Court hearing, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum were cautiously optimistic regarding the outcome. "In our Constitutional democracy, when government officials do not adhere to the rule of law, it is important for the judiciary to uphold the rule of law," said Siegel. "We are hopeful that the Supreme Court in Albany County will grant our petition in all respects."
Parents present in court today were also encouraged by the day's proceedings.
Mona Davids, parent Petitioner and President of the New York Charter Parents Association said, "Today marks the beginning of a new era of parent involvement in public education. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired and we will continue to advocate for quality public schools and education leadership in New York City. We will no longer allow the Bloomberg administration to violate our rights and education law."
Patricia Connelly, Petitioner and a parent of a student with special needs in Brooklyn, stated, "I am grateful that we still have the judiciary to turn to for refuge and possible redress, even if we have to travel miles from home during the holidays to seek it."
Shino Tanikawa-Oglesby, parent Petitioner, and leader within NYC Kids PAC and Community Education Council 2 (Manhattan) concluded, "Governance by lawsuit is not a good way to run our school system. I hope the Court will see the importance of our petition and recognize the implications of a negative ruling."
"Simply put, parents and educators are no longer going to accept a 'business model' which 'contracts out' our school system to hedge fund managers and other institutional interests, while treating parents and teachers as 'competitors' and excluding us from having any input into our children's educations," said Noah E. Gotbaum.
Assemblyman Jeffries (Brooklyn), Ms. Davids (Bronx), Ms. Connelly (Brooklyn), Ms. Tanikawa-Oglesby (Manhattan) and Mr. Gotbaum (Manhattan) were Petitioners who could attend the hearing.
Parent Petitioners who could not attend the hearing included Hon. Chris Owens (Brooklyn), Ms. Khem Irby (Brooklyn), Ms. Lydia Bellahcene (Brooklyn), Ms. Monica Ayuso (Queens), Ms. Mariama Sanoh (Manhattan), Mr. John Battis (Brooklyn), Ms. Latrina Miley (Manhattan), and Ms. Maria Farano-Rodriguez (Staten Island), as well as teacher Petitioner Julie Cavanagh (Brooklyn).
Over the objection of the Corporation Counsel's representative, the Court granted a request to videotape the proceedings, which were then recorded.
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