Fight the Moskowitz/Grannis Machine at Public Hearing, Dec. 5, 6PM

Harlem and Williamsburg/Greenpoint have become two of the most lucrative real estate pieces in what they consider "THEIR PORTFOLIO"...
Under the guise of improving schools they have pushed through ridiculous and unproductive co-locations and flooded our community with unwanted and unneeded charter schools. --anon.

I really want to go to this but was already committed to attending a meeting of Change the Stakes with Bill Ayres (see announcement tomorrow). I covered MS 126 as a district 14 tech specialist in the last 4 years I worked.  I have not yet received permission to publish the name of the author so I am keeping it anonymous.

Subject: Community Hearing : December 5th 2012 at MS 126 6:00 PM

It is no secret that the powers that be are out to take over every piece of real estate they can in District #14.

Under the guise of improving schools they have pushed through ridiculous and unproductive co-locations and flooded our community with unwanted and unneeded charter schools.  Make no mistake, this not an accident. It
is a major part of their agenda.  When the charter school cap was raised last year they fought and - everyone caved into them - to maintain the right to expand charter school without a saturation clause.

The reason is at the heart of the struggle: The communities they are flooding with charter schools: 

Harlem and Williamsburg/Greenpoint have become two of the most lucrative real estate pieces in what they consider "THEIR PORTFOLIO".     Just look at the name of the office that handles school closings, co-locations etc. The Office of Portfolio.

Regardless of anybody's opinion or the stated position of any politician or union, Mayoral Control, via the Panel For Educational Policy, amounts to absolute Mayoral authority.

The Panel does as they are told and has never gone against the Mayor since he fired two members for going against his first proposal.  Thus, we can expect that anything proposed, (my guess is that the Mayor and Chancellor draft the proposals for submission) will in fact be passed by the majority, as they are appointed by the Mayor.  We may not like it but that is the reality of the system that has been created and approved by the State Assembly/Senate.

That said, the reason folks like myself were so vocal about the need for the saturation clause is because we are the ones who are now  forced to live with the results of the failure to obtain such a provision.

DISTRICT # 14 IS NOW SATURATED WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS as a result of the failure of everyone to demand such a clause.   So now we are faced with yet another charter school proposal, as well as the threatened closing of one of our neighborhood High Schools.  

To add insult to injury in a case of that does not pass the smell test, Eva Moskowitz' husband Eric Grannis is now trying to open a Citizens of The World Charter School here in District #14,which he hopes to locate at MS 126.  The expansion of such a charter will only serve to drain much needed resources from our District's public schools.   I understand and respect (though I totally disagree with)  the law that allowed the charter school cap to be lifted, however, this latest school would create a situation where almost 1/3 of District #14 students would be in charter schools.  That is not equitable.  It is totally unfair and I believe it is purely political.

If Charters need to expand let it be to other Districts where parents are actually asking for them.  Our CEC is on record as being against any more charters opening in this community.

There will be a mandatory Public Hearing about this proposal.  I doubt that we will be able to change the outcome but  I encourage all of you and the families of public school students to attend.  These schools belong to the communities they serve not any one person's "portfolio".   We went into this to serve the people not run a real estate trust.

Please come out and show your support of Community Public Schools and voice your opinion about the latest proposed charter school.  Today it is MS 126 being proposed for co-location and Juan Morel Campos HS being slated for closure, tomorrow it could be your school or mine.

The Hearing for The Proposed Co-location of Citizens of The World Charter School  at MS 126 will be held on :

Wednesday December 5th at 6 PM
in the Auditorium of
MS 126
424 Leonard Street
Brooklyn, NY

I look forward to seeing you and hearing our parents teachers and school leaders speaking truth to absolute power.