"We are being oversaturated with charter schools," said Tesa Wilson, president Community Education Council in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "It's tax dollars being poured into a black hole with no accountibility."When I went out for dinner with Michael Fiorillo and Patrick Walsh the other night after the MORE "Lessons of Chicago" event, we ran into one of the few politicians we trust, Danny Drumm - Patrick made sure to thank him for his work. I was reminded I had this DN piece to report on from a few weeks ago. With Moskowitz asking for 14 more schools to build her political machine, this is an important initiative. The UFT is silent but for all we know they are working behind the scenes so as not to appear to be spearheading this, though that strategy is a joke, given that any words of criticism towards charters is seen as union inspired. Even people like me have been lumped in. So why not just come out there firing and use your resources to support Drumm? We know that we are heading for a war over lifting the state charter cap and we know where Cuomo will stand.
City Council Daniel Dromm (D-Queens), who heads the city Education Committee, said the city has no control over the charter schools even though they are given $13,000 per student. An investigation into harsh discipline, rigged admissions and other allegations needs to be completed, reads a letter the committee will send to the state... NYDN
Now we know SUNY is a scumbag operation and will approve any charter that comes across the table, so this letter by 10 NYC Council members will go ignored. But imagine of there was an organization capable of organizing thousands of people to march on SUNY - after all there are so many schools inundated with charters, I think it possible. The UFT has its fingers in just about every community organization out there and they won't make a move without them.
(And let me drop this in, given the lessons of Chicago. That city has independent community groups not connected to the union for decades. So when we hear that part of CORE's success in organizing its run to take over the union was due to social justice community work, we do not face that comparable situation here in NYC.)
City Council committee puts the brakes on charter school expansion due to lack of oversight
A City Council committee has come out swinging against a slew of city charter schools set to open in 2015 and beyond, saying they are poorly regulated and their expansion should be halted.
Ten City Council members who make up the Education Committee signed a letter urging the State University of New York to stop the planned schools.
“We oppose any further expansion of charter schools,” reads the letter that will be sent Thursday to SUNY. “Hold off on authorizing new charter schools until you address the lack of oversight and accountability.”
Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are not managed by the city, but instead must seek permission to open from SUNY or the state Board of Regents.
Education Committee Chairman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens) said the city has no control over charter schools, even though the city must pay them more than $13,000 for each student they enroll.
“The city has to pay for privately run, unaccountable charter schools,” said Dromm.
Dromm and the others who signed the letter ask SUNY officials to investigate harsh discipline, teacher and student attrition, rigged admissions and other allegations.
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The SUNY onslaught could come at all campuses across the state simultaneously.
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