Mulgrew BFF Farina Changes Superintendents - Pity District 12 With New Supt Rafaela Espinal (Pacheco)

Two important points came up after Mulgrew's president's report, which I would characterize as the UFT bureaucracy's enchantment with Chancellor Carmen Fariña.  "Remember all those years with that moron up the street?” said Mulgrew (referring to Joel Klein and the Bloomberg years). Now with a “friend” in Tweed (“call me Carmen”), and the new contract, he said, "teachers have a voice" and the chancellor is telling the principals, "teachers aren't the enemy, they're soldiers in your army.”  Well, the brass and the troops have a very different standpoint, especially when we’re facing a war on teachers and public education.... Marjorie Stamberg, reporting on the Oct. 22 UFT Delegate Assembly

At yesterday's Delegate Assembly, Mulgrew was just dripping with love for Carmen Farina and pointed to the shakeup of Superintendents as a major step in removing the BloomKlein influence from Tweed.

I had to laugh out loud given the name of the new supt of District 12 in the Bronx - one Rafaela Espinal (Pacheco) - the Leadership Academy witch and rubber room queen who was the principal of my old school for about 5 years. Rumors were that her husband (now ex) worked for Bloomberg. And she originally came from District 15 we heard, so there is probably a long-time connection to Farina.

Espinal was known for standing at the door of a class and observing with a scowl and then slapping a post-it note on the door, always with negatives. In her years at the school there was no report of anything she said positively to a teacher.

So it was funny to hear Mulgrew declare yesterday that Farina told the Supt that teachers were not the enemy. Espinal would have to go re-education camp.

When Espinal left PS 147 to go to New Jersey and was replaced by another Lead Acad grad, who surprisingly turned out to be great, the members of the staff looked 10 years younger as they lost years of angst. This was not just the teachers. One secretary told me she was ready to retire but was rejuvenated by the new principal and remained for years.

Espinal had run a reign of terror at the school. One of my friends, a black teacher, who lost the election for chapter leader by 1 vote was targeted the next year. When a special ed child tried to run out of her room for the 3rd time that period my friend caught her and sat her in her seat, in the process a button came off her shirt and her fingernail may have grazed the girls neck - though photos taken by Espinal shortly after showed no mark.

How amazing that the principal immediately grabbed a camera to document supposed abuse - I remember all of us at the 3020 hearing looking at the photo for any sign of a scratch or even redness on the child's neck and shaking our heads.

WARNING ALERT: The teacher did not use a NYSUT lawyer but her own who was an utter incompetent. Rumors are spread about how awful NYSUT lawyers are but teachers should at the very least check out the one they are assigned before leaping to the cost of their own. NYSUT lawyers do not work for the UFT.

Espinal incited the parent to call the police and file charges and my friend was removed in handcuffs by 5 police officers, spent years in the rubber room and while not fired received a substantial fine  - for sitting a child in her seat -- (a runner who could have gotten hurt or worse if she ran out of the school). All incited by the vicious Rafaela Espinal. The teacher was black and another black teacher at the school claimed Espinal was a racist. But the climate of fear created by Espinal shut everyone up -- except my friend who was the only one in the school to challenge Espinal.

I spent some time attending the 3020 hearing and heard the mother testify for hours. That whole scene could be an off-Broadway play. But from her testimony it was clear the role Espinal played.

I even called up the lead detective who made the arrest and soon realized it was bogus - "bullshit" - was the word he used. I tried to get the UFT to do something - like get him in record, etc. but their position was that the teacher is no her own. I did take her to a UFT Exec Bd meeting to speak - again, useless.

Espinal put another teacher in the rubber room for 15 months over a comment she made to one of Espinal's lackeys in a private conversation with no children present that "some children will never get it." Shortly after a kid charged that the teacher told the class that black kids can never learn. The teacher was exonerated and sent back to the school, luckily after Espinal had left.  It should be pointed out that this occurred in January of the school year and the removal of an experienced top level teacher in a crucial 4th grade class led to chaos in the class for the rest of the school year and a drop in scores - which may have been a reason she left.

Espinal returned as principal of PS 125 in Harlem and we immediately began to hear of rubber room postings within her first month. She was ultimately removed as principal (for unknown reasons) but kicked up to a position of principal mentor - specializing in the use of water boarding. Then I heard that under Farina she was put in charge of some teacher evaluation unit - yes, Espinal, who evaluated teachers based on loyalty and trumped up charges.

Ed Notes on Espinal:

Ed Notes Online: Allegations of assault upon a student have ...

Mar 22, 2009

 Rafaela Espinal left the system to a great sigh of relief. She was replaced by another Leadership Acad Principal but this one gets high marks. Another teacher with an impeccable rep railroaded to the RR was ...

Ed Notes Online: Tales From the Rubber Room: The Kathy ...

Apr 10, 2007

It is no small matter that the principal, Rafaela Espinal, is a Leadership Acad Grad and has had a great number of veteran teachers leave the school in the short time she has been there, with others looking to join them.

Parrots Leadership Academy Lingo... - Ed Notes Online

Apr 16, 2007

See Rafaela Espinal, principal of PS 147, say a few words of wisdom when she is not inciting parents to call the police on teachers. One of the things not included in the interview with Kathy Blythe in The Chief was the fact that ...

To me Rafaela Espinal is a criminal. So here is someone who could not last as a principal in at least 3 schools has been appointed as the new District 12 Superintendent.

Here is the list of Supes as published by Tweed:

There are 32 community superintendents and 10 high school superintendents, and we applied these changes to all 42. There are 15 new superintendents, of them eight were hired this school year:

District 2 - Bonnie Laboy

District 8 – Karen Ames

District 11 – Maria Lopez

District 12 – Rafaela Espinal

District 17 – Clarence Ellis

District 22 – Julia Bove

District 26 – Danielle Giunta

District 28 – Mabel Muniz-Saduy

Additionally, seven of the new superintendents were hired in the spring to fill vacancies. These new superintendents all still reapplied and underwent the new, thorough process over the summer. These are: 

District 6 – Manuel Ramirez

District 9 – Leticia Rodriquez Rosario

District 27 – Mary Barton

District 31 – Anthony Lodico

High School– Michael Prayor

High School – Fred Walsh

Transfer High School – LaShawn Robinson

These individuals were selected after a rigorous interview process and comprehensive background checks, and have all demonstrated extensive experience and a clear commitment to serving our students. There are two incumbent superintendents who did not meet the new experience qualifications (at least ten years of pedagogic experience, including at least three as a successful principal) but were grandfathered in per the regulation change – Gale Reeves (D5) and Anita Skop (D15). Today, October 21 marks the new superintendents’ first day. 

Here is a quote you can use from Chancellor Carmen Fariña: “To be a successful superintendent, you need extensive experience as an instructional leader and a proven record of success. I am thrilled to welcome this group of highly qualified leaders—they have the necessary experience, knowledge and understanding of what it takes to support principals, teachers and ultimately students. These decisions were about common sense. I want leaders at the helm who understand what it takes to ensure a supportive school community, and this is an exciting step forward to make sure our school system creates environments where all students and school staff will thrive. The new and existing superintendents will receive ongoing support, professional development, collaborate with each other and serve our greatest goal of directly improving classroom learning for students across the City.”

Right- I can see Espinal slapping giant post-it notes full of negative comments on schools.

Send a message to today's UFT DA: ATRs Deserve Union Representation

Support ATRs who are deprived of representation in any UFT Chapter, by calling for a new functional chapter of ATRs.

Here is the proposed resolution from MORE for today's Delegate Assembly:

Read and download on our DA flyer.

The UFT Delegate Assembly will take place on
Wednesday, October 22nd, at 4:15pm
UFT headquarters at 52 Broadway (2/3/4/5 to Wall St., A/C/J/Z to Fulton, 1/N/R to Rector)

Afterwards, please join us for a post-DA gathering at 6:15pm, just a few blocks away at the Whitehorse Tavern, 25 Bridge St, NYC.

See you this afternoon, 

Movement of Rank and File Educators

ATRs of the World - UNITE! End Taxation (Dues) Without Representation - Force the UFT/Unity Caucus to Form a Functional Chapter

A new energy has infused the almost decade old ATR situation (beginning with the 2005 contract) with the entry of James Eterno and Francesco Portelos into their world. It is not easy to slime people who have been recognized as great teachers.

(For new readers an ATR is somone whose school was closed or who was excessed from their school and is now forced to rotate each week from school to school while under the gun of almost instant dismissal when 2 principals go after them.)

Many ATRs became so gun-shy and abused they had trouble organizing and acting.

Not much at all since the big Nov. 2008 ATR rally at Tweed, which the UFT/Unity, in alliance with the DOE, tried to undermine - see my video of the wine and cheese fiasco - the video Randi did not want you to see - and by the way for those promoting the sudden New Action interest in ATRS - they were perfectly happy to partake in the wine and cheese and ignore the rally taking place at Tweed - yes I have the unpublished video.
See ed notes wine and cheese reports

Ed Notes Online: Enter the Demilitarized Zone: ATR ...

Oct 21, 2012

2008 ATR rally at Tweed that caused so much panic at both Tweed and 52 Broadway that the Gang of 2 were forced to come up with an "agreement" the day before followed by the infamous UFT wine and cheese diversion to ...

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/

The Video the UFT Doesn't Want You To See: The ATR Rally

Jan 28, 2009

That day I went to the rally and it was sickening what happened with the boycott from RW. We waited for her in the bitter cold while she and her people were stuffing themselves with the wine and cheese. By the time she came, ...

(Actually, the event above led Angel Gonzalez, John Lawhead and I to create an ICE committee that turned into GEM.)

James had not been shy about blogging - ICEUFT Blog

ADIOS AVIATION HS; ATR ROTATION BEGINS . The ICE and Ed Notes blogs have been the most persistent voices standing up for ATRS since 2005, along with Chaz's School Daze.

And of course we know Portelos is never shy.

I found out how hard it was to organize ATRs in 2010 or 2011 when Angel and I started holding meetings. At the first one we had over 40 people when we expected 10. I tried to keep listserves, etc until I realized ATRs had to organize themselves. What they were missing was the kind of organizers and leadership that Eterno and Portelos bring to the table - especially with Portelos' tech skills.

What a pleasure to see this happening.

We are organizing the ATRs. We will hold elections for a new ATR coalition and then approach the UFT to be a functional chapter like all these others http://www.uft.org/new-teachers/functional-chapters
Please share widely and tell every ATR you know. 

The great charter school rip-off: Finally, the truth catches up to education “reform” phonies - Jeff Bryant in Salon

Charter school advocates say it's all about choice - except when it isn't - as when 90% of the people in a school district say NO to charters but are force fed then anyway.

Fraud, financial mismanagement, lousy results: Reports highlight awful charter schools and people are catching on---

After Katrina, as NPR recently reported, “an ad hoc coalition of elected leaders and nationally known charter advocates formed,” and in “a series of quick decisions,” all school employees were fired and the vast majority of the city’s schools were handed over to a state entity called the “Recovery School District” which is governed by unelected officials. Only a “few elite schools were … allowed to maintain their selective admissions.” In other words, any bargaining that was done was behind closed doors and at tables where most of the people who were being affected had no seat..... Jeff Bryant, Salon

This article by Jeff (who I had the pleasure of meeting in the press section at the AFT convention this past summer) was posted at Salon on Oct 2, 2014 and I may have even posted it before but it's lurking on one of my tabs so here are a few excerpts.

Last week when former President Bill Clinton meandered onto the topic of charter schools, he mentioned something about an “original bargain” that charters were, according to the reporter for The Huffington Post, “supposed to do a better job of educating students.”

A writer at Salon called the remark “stunning” because it brought to light the fact that the overwhelming majority of charter schools do no better than traditional public schools. Yet, as the Huffington reporter reminded us, charter schools are rarely shuttered for low academic performance.

But what’s most remarkable about what Clinton said is how little his statement resembles the truth about how charters have become a reality in so many American communities.

In a real “bargaining process,” those who bear the consequences of the deal have some say-so on the terms, the deal-makers have to represent themselves honestly (or the deal is off and the negotiating ends), and there are measures in place to ensure everyone involved is held accountable after the deal has been struck.
But that’s not what’s happening in the great charter industry rollout transpiring across the country. Rather than a negotiation over terms, charters are being imposed on communities – either by legislative fiat or well-engineered public policy campaigns. Many charter school operators keep their practices hidden or have been found to be blatantly corrupt. And no one seems to be doing anything to ensure real accountability for these rapidly expanding school operations.

Instead of the “bargain” political leaders may have thought they struck with seemingly well-intentioned charter entrepreneurs, what has transpired instead looks more like a raw deal for millions of students, their families, and their communities. And what political leaders ought to be doing – rather than spouting unfounded platitudes, as Clinton did, about “what works” – is putting the brakes on a deal gone bad, ensuring those most affected by charter school rollouts are brought to the bargaining table, and completely renegotiating the terms for governing these schools.

Charter Schools As Takeover Operations
The “100 percent charter schools” education system in New Orleans that Clinton praised was never presented to the citizens of New Orleans in a negotiation. It was surreptitiously engineered.
----
Further, any evidence of the improvement of the educational attainment of students in the New Orleans all-charter system is obtainable only by “jukin the stats” or, as the NPR reporter put it, through “a distortion of the curriculum and teaching practice.” As Andrea Gabor wrote for Newsweek a year ago, “the current reality of the city’s schools should be enough to give pause to even the most passionate charter supporters.”

Jeff goes into detail on the York City charter takeover and there's lots more meat in his report, so read it all.

He closes with the charter escape from accountability question:

Unsurprisingly, the report got an immediate response from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, arguing against any regulation on charters. That organization’s response cites “remarkable results” as an excuse for why charters should continue to be allowed to skirt public accountability despite the fact they get public money. However, whenever there is close scrutiny of the remarkable results the charter industry loves to crow about, the facts are those results really aren’t there.

Charter Accountability Now
Of course, now that the truth about charter schools is starting to leak out of the corners of the “black box” the industry uses to protect itself, the charter school PR machine is doing everything it can to cover up reality.
Beginning with the new school year, the charter school industry has been on a publicity terror with a national campaign claiming to tell “The Truth About Charters” and high dollar promotional appeals in Philadelphia and New York City.

Saturday With Susan: Randi and UFT Pal Steve Barr in Yet Another Charter Scandal - ho hum

There is a lot of meat in today's report from Susan. Here are some details on another Randi Weingarten good buddy Steve Barr mess.

New Orleans student Social Security numbers found on auctioned-off laptops
Ohanian Comment:

It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your child's Social Security number is?

Could a school name be more appropriate: Future is Now. They've put kids' data is at risk NOW.

New Orleans, the nation's first all-charter school district, named the Recovery School District (RSD), reported about 1 1/2 years ago that an audit revealed $2.7 million in RSD property was missing--"things like computers and equipment." Superintendent Patrick Dobard said that the audit's finding was misleading, that "70 percent of the items listed as missing have incorrect location codes -- but are still present in schools."

Complete with student data.

When the Future is Now (formerly known as Green Dot America), operated by Steve Barr, took over an historic New Orleans school in 2012 (See Ed Week's version: Steve Barr's Quest to Save a New Orleans High School) it received $800,000 in start-up funding, which Barr promised to use for iPads. When the school shut down just two years later, all the teachers lost their jobs and all the students had to find new schools. Barr attributed this to "supply and demand"--just not enough students to make it profitable. Nobody is saying where the iPads are.

Or the student Social Security numbers.

Answering the Where Is He Now? question, on July 30, 2014, California Democrats for Education Reform announced that with their chair Steve Barr they're going to create a political consensus to reform education. No New Orleans teachers need apply.

Footnote: New Orleans Superintendent Patrick Dobard is a Broad Institute alumnus and the district is featured in a Broad Spotlight, December 2012, calling "the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are one of the most vibrant communities for education reform."

But where is that student data?

by Danielle Dreilinger

State officials announced Friday that the Social Security numbers, names and birthdates of 210 students were left on at least two laptops sold at auction Oct. 11. Those laptops were surplus equipment from the Future Is Now charter group sold after the organization ended its program at John McDonogh High in New Orleans..... more on this

And here's the rest of Susan's report.

I so enjoyed the New York Times 'correction' today that I posted it on Twitter: Bermuda is 670 miles EAST of NC, not WEST.
Thank you for sharing this geography slip-up, NYT. When will you correct worse education errors?
Reminder: The opt out billboard campaign in Colorado needs your donation. This venerable annual campaign urging parents to opt out of the standardized test is truly grassroots, and it is moving--steady increase in opt outs. Be part of the revolution. Send $5 to:
Coalition for Better Education
2424 22nd Ave.
Greeley, CO 80631-8154
This campaign is spearheaded by Don Perl, the first teacher in the country to refuse to give Colorado's test--in 2001. Here's how the Denver Post reported it back then: http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4916
This New Yorker cartoon cuts to the bone: http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=1052
We are destroying a generation's possibility for encountering school happenings that inspire a love of learning.
Here's a reprise of a golden oldie: http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=1051
And this page has three more.
http://susanohanian.org/cartoons.php
Monday is cooking day at the Senior Center. Last minute cancellation from my dessert maker. No problem. I just turned 15 pounds of apples into applesauce and I've got 70 slices of bread getting stale. They should be ready by Monday for applesauce bread pudding. Tomorrow I'll soak the black beans for pumpkin black bean curry soup.
After looking into what Steve Barr is up to these days, I need the applesauce and pumpkin to keep me sane. You may think that you're far removed from what happens in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
You're wrong. Read on to find out why.
Susan
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New Orleans student Social Security numbers found on auctioned-off laptops
 Danielle Dreilinger with Ohanian comment
New Orleans Times-Picayune
2014-10-17 http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=570
It's 10 o'clock. Do  you know where your child's school has put his Social Security number?
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Big Doubts About Big Data
Emma Uprichard
Chronicle of Higher Education
2014-10-13 http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=569
Big Data is a bandwagon term that everyone needs to talk about to show that they can play the game
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Jump that Bar; Lift that Bale
Susan Ohanian
blog
2014-10-13 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=757
The Duncan communications chief has a new job but he's sticking to the old metaphors.
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To the editor
Susan Ohanian
New York Times
2014-10-17 http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1721
This is published online in the hopes that some editor will see that school data collection is a topic worth looking at.
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Tech jobs: Minorities have degrees, but don't get hired
Elizabeth Weise and Jessica Guynn
USA Today
2014-10-13 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1892
Top universities turn out black and Hispanic computer science and computer engineering graduates at twice the rate that leading technology companies hire them, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
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Deasy's Gone: Two Newspapers Tell the Tale
Editorial  and Ohanian Comment
Los Angeles Times & New York Times
2014-10-16 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1891
Superintendents with phony degrees and Gates imprint may come and go, but teachers are the folks who are always there.
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Tulane's Cowen Institute retracts New Orleans schools report, apologizes
Jessica Williams
New Orleans Times-Picayune
2014-10-10 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1889
Here are the people involved in the withdrawn report termed a 'high profile embarrassment.'
______________________________

___________

THROWBACK THURSDAY - NYSUT LAUREN COHEN, MORE

Lauren Cohen throwing  down at the NYSUT election convention in front  of 3,000 NYSUT delegates (and shocking 800 unity members)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbkqXmDz62Y

VOTE HOWIE HAWKINS/BRIAN JONES AND GREEN PARTY FOR GOVERNOR

Beth Domino, President of Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association says it as well as can be said. 

Beth Domino
I write to you today about the critical election for New York State Governor next month. I believe that the outcome of this election will have a major impact on all aspects of our lives as teachers and school employees.
We have seen firsthand the damage that Cuomo has done to our school district by imposing an undemocratic property tax cap that has made it impossible for critical programs to continue, an over-emphasis on testing, the narrowing of curriculum and finally the intrusion of the common core, which has done more to frustrate creative and talented teachers than improve instruction.
Cuomo has been a governor who incites communities to doubt school professionals and prefers to blame teachers instead of providing badly needed resources and support. Many believe that Cuomo has done the most substantial damage to our public system than any governor before him.
Challenging the Governor is Westchester County Executive Republican candidate Rob Astorino. While some have taken notice of Mr. Astorino’s anti-common core platform, a simple scratch beneath the surface reveals a candidate who puts all his faith in charter schools and would further decimate schools through a reduction of state aid. Equally alarming is Astorino’s opposition to teacher tenure, as well as, his vow to eliminate the Triborough Amendment.
Fortunately, there is an alternative this year to both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Astorino. Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins and his running mate for Lieutenant Governor, Brian Jones have produced an education platform that is completely in sync with what we believe and know to be sound education policy.
Hawkins and Jones believe that:
New York needs to opt out of Race to the Top and the Common Core Standards.
Schools need to return to meaningful teaching and learning and move away from the over-emphasis on testing.
Schools should be allowed to develop authentic assessments that are organic to the learning process.
Zero-tolerance discipline policies are the wrong way to produce responsible and productive citizens.
The state-mandated anti-democratic tax cap must be eliminated.
The State should provide equitable funding for all schools so there can be a reduction of class size and the restoration of music, art, health, and all other vital programs that have been taken away from this generation of students.
In light of these pro-public education initiatives, the Port Jefferson Station Teachers’ Association Executive Council voted unanimously to endorse the Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones Education Platform. Many members have voiced their concerns regarding the anti-union and anti-public education positions of both Cuomo and Astorino. This frustration may lead many to NOT cast a vote for governor in this upcoming election. A vote for Hawkins/Jones represents a vote for education and faith in the job that each of us perform each day in the classroom. A vote for Hawkin/Jones also sends a message to Cuomo that we refuse to let him win by default or inaction.
I encourage you to visit their website at http://www.howiehawkins.org/platform to learn more about Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones. If you agree that we must have leaders in Albany who truly understand the needs and challenges of public schools today, I ask that you investigate for yourself and compare and contrast the candidates’ views on education and spread the word regarding your findings to friends, colleagues and family members.
In Solidarity

Eva Exposed: Phony Demands for Success Charter Exposed; Stringer to Audit Charters

On average, schools in the Success Academy network were under-enrolled by 7.6 percent.... “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said public school parent Brooke Parker. “SUNY has knowingly withheld enrollment data for charter schools from the taxpaying public, even though taxpayer dollars bankroll charters.

For years we've challenged charters, in particular Eva's charters, to produce those waiting lists. How much do I love Brooke Parker, parent activist supreme from Williamsburg/Greenpoint District 14. She never gives up.

Leonie just posted this article to her listserve:  EXCLUSIVE: Comptroller will audit City's charter schools

In case you have forgotten, Scott Stringer defeated Eva for Manhattan Borough President I think in 2005, thus helping jump-start her career as a charter operator.

Here are a few focused facts from the article. Use them at future public hearings to challenge the pro-Success people who say there is such demand for more of their schools.

Local public school parents searched through the School Construction Authority’s “Blue Book” and found evidence that more than two-thirds of Success Academy charter schools were under-enrolled in the 2013-2014 school year.

Besides standing in clear opposition to claims of wait lists and need for more schools, drastic under-enrollment is supposed to elicit action from SUNY. If a school falls below 80 percent of its targeted enrollment, the overseer is charged with closing that school.

Last school year, four Success Academy charter schools did not reach that 80 percent benchmark. The four schools — in Fort Greene, Crown Heights, Hell’s Kitchen and Union Square — were under-enrolled by 22 percent.

On average, schools in the Success Academy network were under-enrolled by 7.6 percent.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said public school parent Brooke Parker. “SUNY has knowingly withheld enrollment data for charter schools from the taxpaying public, even though taxpayer dollars bankroll charters.

More...

Eva Goes to Washington (Lobbyists)

Gloria Brandman as Evil Moskowitz

These public disputes have made Moskowitz herself increasingly controversial. At a recent meeting regarding Success expansion, one detractor wore a mask depicting Moskowitz' face with a witch hat.... Joy Resmovits, HuffPost

That's our Gloria, making the national news. (Ed Notes, Sept 29, 2014 - MORE Takes a Stand Against Eva Moskowitz at Hearings - Last Monday and Today in Manhattan)

Joy did a nice report on how Eva has hired lobbyists in Washington DC. Read it all here.

The NY Times had a report on the SUNY charter crooks giving Eva more schools. NY Times' Kate Taylor, the reporter who came to the hearing in Brooklyn a few weeks ago did report:

About two dozen people went to a hearing in Brooklyn at the end of September, held at Public School 133 in Boerum Hill. All of the speakers, including teachers in local district schools and a representative for City Councilman Brad Lander, voiced their opposition to opening new Success Academy schools in their areas.

Some cited limited space or competition for funding, and said that charters drew the most involved families, leaving more difficult students in the district schools. Others said Ms. Moskowitz and her donors intended to privatize the public schools. One teacher wore a witch’s hat and a mask of Ms. Moskowitz’s face.

“For the record, everyone here spoke against — no one spoke for — and I’m going to be really shocked to find out that they approved this application,” said David Goldsmith, president of the community education council for District 13 in Brooklyn. “Thanks for caring, Albany,” he added.

Also see Leonie's piece:

NYC Public School Parents

Damaging impacts of charters on Harlem's public schools - Empty room at Success charter school taken from PS 175 On October 8. I gave a presentation to the Community Education Council in District 5 on the impact of...
And some of my videos:

Video: Parent/Community Voices Oppose Success as SUNY Approves Eva Moskowitz Charter Scam 

Parents and community voices oppose SUNY authorization of Success Academy charters in Manhattan's Districts 2 and 3 - Part 1

Why doesn't SUNY give them space? There's FIT, School of Optometry - even Downstate... parent testimony

Video from the September 29, 2014 hearing.

For teacher voices see:
MOREistas in the House, UFT Not @ Success Academy ...
and teachers and community/parents at the Sept. 22 hearing in Brooklyn: MORE Takes a Stand Against Eva Moskowitz at Hearin...

Is Pearson Publishing Gravy Train Facing Derailment?

One former Pearson executive argues that “for-profit” organisations in education are “seriously under threat”, and could end up losing their footing altogether.

We can only pray.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/pearson-dominance-textbook-market-under-155803425.html

Pearson’s dominance of textbook market is under examination

By Katherine Rushton | Telegraph – Sat, Oct 11, 2014 16:58 BST

Most people have, at some point in their lives, felt a bout of nerves as they awaited a crucial set of exam results. Pearson’s chief executive, John Fallon, could be forgiven for having the same feeling.

Next month, the London-listed education giant will face its own version of this peculiar kind of torture, as it learns whether Texas plans to renew its contract for Pearson to provide testing in schools. The deal is a valuable one, worth around $500m (£310m) over five years. It is also a matter of particular strategic importance.

Texas is amongst America’s biggest and most influential states when it comes to education spending – the linchpin in the North American market, which accounts for 59pc of Pearson’s revenues and 66pc of its profits. And it has a long history of doing business with the British company, whose chief executive cut his teeth in the US textbook market, and whose former boss, Dame Marjorie Scardino, is herself American.

Most people have, at some point in their lives, felt a bout of nerves as they awaited a crucial set of exam results. Pearson’s chief executive, John Fallon, could be forgiven for having the same feeling.

Next month, the London-listed education giant will face its own version of this peculiar kind of torture, as it learns whether Texas plans to renew its contract for Pearson to provide testing in schools. The deal is a valuable one, worth around $500m (£310m) over five years. It is also a matter of particular strategic importance.

Texas is amongst America’s biggest and most influential states when it comes to education spending – the linchpin in the North American market, which accounts for 59pc of Pearson’s revenues and 66pc of its profits. And it has a long history of doing business with the British company, whose chief executive cut his teeth in the US textbook market, and whose former boss, Dame Marjorie Scardino, is herself American.

If the educational testing business were an election, this would count as Pearson’s safe seat. Yet there are signs Pearson may be about to lose its grip on its traditional stronghold. An audit of the Texas Education Agency recently found problems with the way the Pearson contract was tendered and managed.

Questions have been raised in a number of different states over the quality of Pearson’s digital courses. An influential religious lobby group, the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, has meanwhile lambasted the publisher over one of its textbooks, for allegedly drawing exaggeratedly close links between Moses’s Ten Commandments and the US constitution.

Texas has not awarded the testing contract yet, but industry sources fear it will not go Pearson’s way.

The company is large enough to swallow this sort of hit, of course. Pearson, which also owns the Financial Times and a 47pc stake in Penguin Random House, made £871m last year, on revenues of £5.2bn. A $100m-a-year dent is not going to send it into the red.

However, the tussle for Texas follows a difficult 12 months, and analysts fear that it could be the harbinger of more problems to come.

The company has already issued three profit warnings since last April, repeatedly blaming a decline in college enrolments and public spending cutbacks which have battered the North American market. “Our biggest business, North America, is facing the most difficult trading conditions in a decade,” said Mr Fallon earlier this year.

Most of its income in the region comes from the education business, which does everything from publishing traditional college text books to designing interactive digital courses, many of which students can follow at their own speed. Meanwhile, the testing unit under fire in Texas writes and manages the regular assessments used to calculate students’ grades. An increasing number are computer-based.

In August, the business suffered another painful blow. Pearson and Apple were both dropped from a $1bn project to supply digital textbooks on iPads to schools throughout Los Angeles, amid concerns that they were in contact with the schools authority before the contract was awarded.

They will be allowed to apply for the contract again, but Pearson’s odds don’t look good after an official report lambasted the quality of its product. The course fell short of “minimum requirements” because “there were numerous lessons and even entire units missing across every grade level”, the Los Angeles Unified School District said.

Pearson is not the first to be criticised in this way. A number of publishing houses have been reprimanded for the quality of their digital courses — something the industry regards as teething problems.

“In this transition from print to digital, we don’t have all the infrastructure, but directionally things are moving the right way,” a Pearson spokesman said.

“There are short-term headwinds and long-term opportunities. It is not going to be a clear, straight path. It’s hard work. It’s a case of trial and error as you innovate. The question is, ‘How quickly do you learn?’”

They echoed Fallon’s view, that Pearson is grappling with the shift to digital at the same time as it is being buffeted by a confluence of powerful external factors. The budget cuts and reduction in enrolments come hand in hand with increasing political tensions.

“The polarising politics that have already affected everything else, [are now] crossing into the classroom. There is no doubt in my mind that education within the US and globally is going through the biggest transformation any of us have seen in a generation or more,” the spokesman added.

Some analysts argue that Dame Marjorie carefully timed her exit at the end of 2012. Pearson expanded enormously under her tenure, using a series of acquisitions to develop digital products and expand in emerging markets, notably China.

Mr Fallon, these analysts argue, is now unfairly having to grapple with a ragtag bag of companies, shouldering the blame for a combination of changing market dynamics and decisions taken by his predecessor.

Others claim Dame Marjorie is the one being scapegoated. They argue that the FTSE 100 business she led for 16 years is wobbling because of much more recent decisions, and that Fallon has lost key staff and contracts because of a reduction of investment in digital projects.

Whichever interpretation one adopts it is clear that Pearson’s troubles are not all of its own making. Its current turbulence started at a time when the tectonic plates of the education industry were already shifting rapidly. Part of this is down to a redrawing of the battle lines between established rivals. In America, McGraw-Hill Education has lately sharpened its focus on digital products under new chief executive David Levin, the former boss of UBM.

News Corp’s education division has also upped its game, under the guidance of Joel Klein, the former New York City schools chancellor.

But there are also a number of new rivals bearing down on the sector: Some of these are start-ups. We are in the midst of an unparalleled splurge in investment in new digital education businesses. In 2008, venture capital firms ploughed just $200m into the sector. This year, that sum is on course for $1bn.

Meanwhile, established technology giants like Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are all making inroads into the industry, in the hope that they will build loyal audiences to sell other products to down the line. “We’ve handed education to the big software and hardware providers,” says a senior industry figure. “Google is slated to have 20m teachers working on Google apps, and it’s all free. The margins are different because the motivations are different. Google can give away education because it is securing customers for the future.”

At the moment, the big technology companies tend to partner with the traditional players – Apple was supposed to provide the iPads for LA’s $1bn digital project, for example, but Pearson was responsible for the content. However, we have already seen this story play out in other industries. It is only a matter of time before these technology giants start producing their own content, and try to disintermediate the traditional publishers altogether.

“Partnering with one of these guys is like going to bed with a serial rapist,” one senior source says. “It is only a matter of time.”

He identifies Amazon as the biggest single threat. Its motivation is clear. The more educational content it provides, the more likely it is users will become dependent on its ecosystem and use it for future purchases.

Organisations that are not trying to make money arguably pose an even greater challenge, however. In 2011, Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla, ring-fenced between $1.5bn and $2.5bn to fund education projects. The endowment, informally dubbed the Zuckerberg fund, is a relatively low-key operation at the moment, but industry figures speculate that he will end up tackling education, in much the same way as Microsoft founder Bill Gates established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve world health.

Those sorts of initiatives should only ever be welcomed, but they do not make life easier for traditional education companies.

One former Pearson executive argues that “for-profit” organisations in education are “seriously under threat”, and could end up losing their footing altogether.

But the Pearson’s spokesman feels differently. “The private sector has a pivotal role to play,” they say.

Either way, Pearson has reached a crucial moment in its trajectory. Fallon has to whip the ragtag bag of businesses he inherited into a smart, digital company. Otherwise, the venture capital firms could soon start circling and pick-pick-pick it away.

NYCDOE Teacher Performance Investigator - Education required: A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent

Another slug job supporting the criminals at DOE legal. Add this to job description:

Will ignore any info that might show the teacher is innocent.
Will do what it takes to justify the existence of this job even if it means lying, cheating and creating evidence out of nothing.

Thanks to H.E. for sending this.

http://newyorkcity.jobing.com/n-y-city-school-const-auth/teacher-performance-unit-tpu-investigator-employee-discipline-2-2170868

Jobing Description

Tracking Code

Job Description

(Those who previously applied need not re-apply)

Position Summary:

Under supervision, with latitude for independent action and decision, investigates and studies tenured pedagogues misconduct and incompetence. The Investigator will be responsible for supporting the unit head and the staff attorneys in the investigation and preparation of legal and labor matters related to employee misconduct and incompetence.?? The Investigator is responsible for the maintenance and preparation of documents and written reports that are prepared in conjunction with administrative proceedings. The Investigator works collaboratively with the unit head and the other staff attorneys to ensure an efficient and systematic approach to legal services and may serve as liaison to city, state and federal departments, and with other agencies and officials within the Department of Education (DOE).

All personnel perform related work regardless of assignment type or level.

Reports to: ??

Deputy Counsel (Director) of the Teacher Performance Unit and/or designated Staff Attorneys.

Direct Reports: 
May require supervision of other Investigators and/or support staff.

Key Relationships: ??

Legal Services Staff Attorneys and Administrative Support Staff

RESPONSIBILITIES

Assembles and verifies data, records and evidence in response to inquiries from Corporation Counsel and outside counsel.

Manages and maintains case databases and generates case reports.
Examines and analyzes employee records and documents, case files and legal filings necessary to respond to requests for disciplinary hearings; makes recommendations as to course of action.
Utilizes computer systems such as NYCAPS, HRS and EIS to assist in the retrieval of information in connection with various administrative proceedings involving the Department of Education.
Assists attorneys in trial preparation including drafting charges, maintenance and preparation of documents for trial, witness preparation and evidence gathering.
Ensures timely notification of charges to employee to comply with labor agreement deadlines so hearing can proceed according to schedule.
Coordinates disciplinary hearings; organizes trial assignments and arbitrator calendar.
Researches and evaluates tenure status of pedagogic employees; and responds to inquiries as a point of contact for principals.
May require supervision of other Investigators and/or support staff.
Guides subordinates on best investigative techniques to utilize based on each individual case.
Interprets DOE administrative rules and regulations and policies as well as labor contract provisions related to due process procedures.

Qualification Requirements

A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and four years of satisfactory full-time experience in one or more of the fields of accounting, auditing, inspection, investigation personnel administration, and security, or in a major operational area of the employing agency; OR
 
A satisfactory combination of a baccalaureate degree, post baccalaureate degree and/or experience.

Preferred

Strong computer systems skill needed to and maintain case databases and generate case reports using LexisNexis, Adobe Acrobat, and other software.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong writing and organizational skills are preferred for the position.
Efficient legal research skills.
Experience utilizing Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point).

Salary: $

Please submit a resume and cover letter along with your application.

Resumes will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

The Plot Against Public Education: How millionaires & billionaires are ruining our schools by Bob Herbert in Politico

Finally, former NY Times op ed reporter Bob Herbert, who I believe used to by the ed deform nonsense, gets it.

 http://go.shr.lc/1vNJLE

Philadephia Story: Contracts Are Only for Teachers to Follow

Imagine if NYC teachers went on strike over the numerous contract violations going on every day in every school? Taylor Law penalties and an assault on the union and teachers would take place en masse.

With the Philly story playing out the way it is, really, what recourse do teachers have other than to strike? I mean at what point does it get to be too much? The problem is that teachers all over the nation, except in Chicago, have not been prepared politically or ideologically to have even the remotest capability of striking. It took a politically sophisticated leadership in Chicago to do that.

And with a national leader like Randi, who plays footsie (Echos of Vichy: UFT/AFT - Friend or Foe and Mercedes Takes on Randi (Again)) with the other side there is little chance of seeing real resistance - other than, ironically, from students (Phila. students protest canceling of contract.)

Kristen Graham and Martha Woodall

Philly School Files

October 06, 2014 9:43 AM

• Gallery: SRC cancels teachers' contract
• Poll: Teachers' contracts: Agree or disagree?

In a stunning move that could reshape the face of city schools, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission voted Monday to unilaterally cancel its teachers’ contract. The vote was unanimous.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers was given no advance word of the action — which happened at an early-morning SRC meeting called with minimal notice — and which figures to result in a legal challenge to the takeover law the SRC believes gives it the power to bypass negotiations and impose terms.
Jerry Jordan, PFT president, called the move "cowardly" and vowed to fight it strongly.

Karen Lewis Recovering, Jesse Sharkey Assumes Duties

Karen is an American hero. Every moment I've shared with her I consider a gift. No one has done more to advance the cause of teachers over the last few years than this courageous, brilliant, and really, really funny woman. God bless, Karen. Let's get you through this -- your work isn't even close to done yet..... Jersey Jazzman

Obviously the situation with Karen may seriously affect the mayoral race in Chicago where Karen was/still is expected to challenge POS Rahm Emanuel.

I've had the absolute pleasure of meeting Karen numerous times, including the time when she spoke at the NYCORE conference a few years ago and we picked her and her husband John up at the airport and got to spend an hour talking in the car. The last time I saw her was in Los Angelos at the AFT convention where she looked great. So let's wish she gets well fast.

I don't know Jesse Sharkey real well but I've never heard a bad word about him. Jesse is part of the original crew that organized CORE.

Below is the update from the Chicago Teachers Union blog.

Chicago Teachers Union Statement, Medical Update on President Karen Lewis

by ctu communications  |  10/09/2014

CHICAGO—Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Karen Lewis underwent successful surgery yesterday for a serious illness and is recovering well.
During President Lewis’ recovery, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey will assume the duties of the president according to the rules set forth in the CTU Constitution and By-laws.
“Out of respect to President Lewis’ wishes, the wishes of her family, and their privacy, we cannot provide details on her condition, but we wish her all the best and pledge all of our support—both in aiding her recovery and in carrying on the work of the CTU about which she cares so deeply,” Sharkey said.

Petition SUNY to Stop Eva Expansion

Hello!
We've started the petition "charters@suny.edu: SUNY should reject the current application to approve additional Success Academy Charter Schools in CSD3, especially without a predetermined location for the school." and need your help to get it off the ground.
Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here's the link:
http://www.change.org/p/charters-suny-edu-suny-should-reject-the-current-application-to-approve-additional-success-academy-charter-schools-in-csd3-especially-without-a-predetermined-location-for-the-school
Here's why it's important:
We support CEC3 in their request for a moratorium on new charter approvals unless and until a full audit of existing co-located charters and their compliance with the law - including marketing, enrollment, student retention, and disciplinary policies - has been undertaken by the New York City Comptroller and the New York City Council.  
You can sign our petition by clicking here.
Thanks! 

Nan Eileen Mead and Elissa Ruback

Co-Presidents, 2014-15

Community School District 3 Presidents' Council

(If you do not wish to receive these emails, please reply "REMOVE")

 

Video: Parent/Community Voices Oppose Success as SUNY Approves Eva Moskowitz Charter Scam

Part 2 - Leonie Haimson, Noah Gotbaum and more -- https://vimeo.com/108349866



More videos:
For teacher voices see:
MOREistas in the House, UFT Not @ Success Academy ...
and teachers and community/parents at the Sept. 22 hearing in Brooklyn: MORE Takes a Stand Against Eva Moskowitz at Hearin...

Part 1 for community/parent voices
http://youtu.be/t81y-BEzOfI



Also see: The Demographic Shift of Eva Moskowitz - The Grim ...(and Almost All White) Faces of Success Academy Parents...

READ LOTS MORE BELOW THE FOLD

Echos of Vichy: UFT/AFT - Friend or Foe and Mercedes Takes on Randi (Again)

“I think attacking Randi is not smart, wise, accurate, or useful. Equating her with Broad et al is absurd. We argue with our allies differently than we attack our enemies. Let’s keep our aim directed at those leading the fight to end public education.”- Deborah Meier.

Randi is not an ally and we are attacking our enemies when we attack Randi. You only have to watch an AFT convention to see how this plays out.

For over a dozen years, starting sometime in 2001, I have often been a lone voice in branding current AFT and former UFT President Randi Weingarten as a tool of ed deform. Mercedes Schneider, a teacher in Louisiana,  has picked up the cudgel at her blog, http://deutsch29.wordpress.com. Her post 

Where the “Broad” Road Will Take AFT

brought out Randi defenders (apologists) with someone using the Deborah Meier quote above.
Debbie has often made similar comments to me.

My response has been that Randi is not our ally and we are attacking our enemies when we attack Randi.

 and Mercedes followed up with:

Weingarten, Broad, and *Collaborative* Privatization

These are must-reads.

I was once a nominal Randi Weingarten supporter - in the early days in 1997 of Ed Notes when I was working basically alone. I saw Randi as bringing new blood, positive reformist blood, to the UFT and Unity Caucus. A weak (and often pathetic) opposition offered by New Action and a barely visible and equally ineffective Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC) and a third caucus, Progressive Action, which was focused on the teacher licensing issue, was the political landscape at that time. I saw Randi and a reformed Unity Caucus as the only possibility. And her "people" were promising me just that -- she would take the union in a new direction. I was even invited to join Unity - which I declined.

So for the next 4 years, while being "suggestive" and critical in a non-critical non-attack mode, Ed Notes attempted to prod Randi with a positive message

Around 1999-2000 I touched base with George Schmidt in Chicago and began to see the horrors of ed deform be played out there in its earliest days through Paul Vallas and -  Yes, I knew about Arne Duncan from Substance a dozen years ago.

I was on the ground in the UFT and watched in horror as, beginning around 2000-2001, Randi began signing on to one ed deform issue after another. That is what turned me against her and ended any possibility Unity and the UFT could be reformed. Instead, Randi not only joined the ed deform movement, but she also further deformed the UFT from what was an essentially undemocratic organization into a form of monarchy, with her playing the role of queen.

That led me on the road to organizing the people to found the Independent Community of Educators (ICE) in late 2003, which led to GEM in 2009 and to MORE in 2012.

The people in ICE were pretty much in alignment with my view of Randi and the leadership. Others in the opposition do not necessarily agree.

I must follow up with a post about some of the internal struggles within MORE and before that, GEM, over whether our union leaders are enemies of just misguided union bureaucrats (sort of the TJC view and certainly the past and current New Action view. Over the years there has been some tension within MORE over this analysis and we devoted a summer series event in 2013 to exploring this issue.

Here are the videos from that event with Ira Goldfine and Vera Pavone laying out the ICE position and Peter Lamphere putting forth what I would term the TJC/ISO point of view.

https://vimeo.com/71202175



https://vimeo.com/71260639


https://vimeo.com/71228197



https://vimeo.com/71195606




Afterburn:

Also see Mercedes' post:
http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/caution-aft-has-made-a-deal-with-inbloom-like-clever/

Teachers Unite: Restorative Justice Workshop Thursday + Week of Action is NOW!

From Teachers Unite:

Did you know that on average states spend states spend 

$5.7 Billion a Year on the Juvenile Justice System Instead of our Schools? 

This week is the Dignity in Schools National Week of Action Against #SchoolPushout to demand #SolutionsNotSuspensions 

Watch & share the promo video here.

 YOU CAN TAKE ACTION NOW! 

Join the list of school teams calling on the DOE to bring systemic change with meaningful community input to school climate and discipline: 

SIGN ON WITH YOUR SCHOOL TEAM HERE!

 << Full media advisory below >>

_____________________

Dignity in Schools National Week of Action

Restorative Justice Workshop!

Come meet students, educators, parents, & community members in NYC who are working to transform their schools through restorative justice practices.

Workshop will be led by staff & students of West Side High School

 Thursday, October 9th

5 to 7pm

Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School

140 West 102nd Street

1 / B / C to 103rd Street

RSVP HERE on EVENTBRITE

Food & drinks will be provided

Students, edcuators, parents—all are welcome!

Flyer attached

 #EdsResist #SchoolPushout #EducationIsTheKey #WoA2014

___________________

Parents and community voices oppose SUNY authorization of Success Academy charters in Manhattan's Districts 2 and 3 - Part 1

Why doesn't SUNY give them space? There's FIT, School of Optometry - even Downstate... parent testimony

Video from the September 29, 2014 hearing.

For teacher voices see:
MOREistas in the House, UFT Not @ Success Academy ...
and teachers and community/parents at the Sept. 22 hearing in Brooklyn: MORE Takes a Stand Against Eva Moskowitz at Hearin...


http://youtu.be/t81y-BEzOfI



Also see: The Demographic Shift of Eva Moskowitz - The Grim ...(and Almost All White) Faces of Success Academy Parents...

Brainless Drain - Bloomberg Remnants at Tweed: 4000 Educrats

"The whole point is that you're not supposed to just be able to hire your buddy," said Mr. Cheliotes.  ...Crains NY

Leonie Haimson reports:

Fascinating story below – apparently under Bloomberg, the city  hired more than 37,000 employees w/out going through the proper Civil Service process, including passing required exams; more than 20,000 of them remain. According to court order and a new state law they have to pass these exams or be replaced by end of 2016.  More than 4,000 of these employees remaining are at DOE. Does anyone know what sorts of positions these people hold?  4,000 is a lot of educrats; are they also teachers?  We’ve lost more than 5,000 teachers since 2007.

My take? Of course the Manhattan Institute and Crain's consider these political appointees Brains rather than Brainless.

Brain drain looms for de Blasio

Layoffs for city workers have begun and could run into the thousands.

By Chris Bragg

October 5, 2014 12:01 a.m.

"The civil-service system was a progressive reform to ensure good government—but that was 100 years ago," said Steve Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Photo: Associated Press

This Week in Crain's: October 6, 2014 Download
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20141005/POLITICS/141009915/brain-drain-looms-for-de-blasio#

The de Blasio administration is facing a major brain drain as a court decision, civil-service rules and state law will force it to shed thousands of experienced middle managers across dozens of city agencies.
The upheaval has already begun in some quarters: A city source said the Department of Design and Construction started letting employees go in August and September, and a spokesman for the agency confirmed that 15 had lost their jobs last month.
But the real bloodletting will occur over the next two years.
This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration will submit a plan to the state Civil Service Commission detailing how the city will slash thousands of "provisional" employees from its payroll. The city must replace most of them with "permanent" employees by the end of 2016.
Some of these provisional workers—who, as their titles suggest, were supposed to be temporary—have been on the city payroll for years.
The state constitution dictates that governmental appointments be based on "merit and fitness," and for many job classifications that is determined by scores on civil-service exams. In many cases, only the top three scorers are allowed to be interviewed for a position.

Circumventing the system

The longstanding policy was designed to root out political patronage. But former Mayor Michael Bloomberg felt hamstrung by it because the exam scores reflect knowledge of agency procedures and other arcane facts but not necessarily work experience, managerial skills, temperament and other qualities.
The mayor therefore had his agencies circumvent the system by hiring "provisional" employees. By 2007, nearly 37,000 were swelling the ranks of city government, occupying more than 19% of the "competitive" city job titles that were supposed to be filled based on exam scores.
"The civil-service system was a progressive reform to ensure good government—but that was 100 years ago," said Steve Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. "Now there's far more sophisticated technology and different types of positions. But you may still want this kind of test for someone working in the Sanitation Department. There are no easy answers to this."
Mr. Bloomberg's work-around was dealt a major blow by a 2007 court decision in a case pitting Long Beach, L.I., against CSEA, a labor union representing employees in the town. The court found it unlawful for municipalities in the state to retain provisional employees for more than nine months.
To be in substantial compliance with the ruling, New York City needed to slash the portion of competitive jobs held by provisional workers to 5%—down to about 9,500. In 2008, the Bloomberg administration developed a plan to cut the provisional ranks to just 3,300 within five years. But it fell well short: As of late last year, nearly 22,500 provisional employees were still on the payroll, according to a city report.

'As fast as they could'

"They went as fast as they reasonably could," argued one source close to the process, alluding to the impact that wholesale personnel changes would have had on city operations.
Data released late last year show the Department of Education had more than 4,000 provisional employees, while the Parks Department, Housing Authority, Human Resources Administration and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene each had more than 1,000. Current provisional employees are being encouraged by their agencies to take civil-service exams.
Many of these provisional employees are union members, said Arthur Cheliotes, president of the Communications Workers Local 1180. Still, public-sector labor leaders chafed because the provisional workers lacked civil-service protections and were afraid to call out managers' misdeeds, including contracting abuses, he said.
Unions also felt the Bloomberg administration was stifling the upward mobility of civil-service workers by hiring provisional managers rather than promoting from the lower ranks.
"It used to be that these kinds of appointments came from the political clubs. [Then] they started coming from the country clubs," wisecracked Mr. Cheliotes, who chairs the civil-service committee for the Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella group for city unions.

Unions push city to act

Labor interests, which had felt that the Bloomberg administration dragged its feet in complying with the court ruling, pressed the state Legislature to accelerate the process. This year, two Brooklyn lawmakers, Republican state Sen. Martin Golden and Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate, advanced bills giving the city a deadline, and after negotiations with the de Blasio administration, a deal was struck to give it until the end of 2016. (Labor sources said the administration, fearing rapid turnover would disrupt agencies, wanted much more time than it got.)
The bill also required the city to issue a new plan to achieve compliance. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law in August. On Oct. 8, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services is expected to issue a plan on how the city will comply with the court decision.
An agency deputy commissioner, Julianne Cho, declined to comment until the plan is released.
The department is now headed by a de Blasio appointee, Stacey Cumberbatch. She and Ms. Cho are both Bloomberg holdovers.
Labor leaders had grumbled that the Bloomberg administration did not schedule enough civil-service exams and often tried to reclassify provisional employees' jobs to exempt them from civil-service rules.
The de Blasio administration, however, has been "vigorous" in giving civil-service exams, Mr. Cheliotes said. Top scorers can fill jobs currently held by provisional employees, some of whom have been taking the tests in an effort to stay on.
"The whole point is that you're not supposed to just be able to hire your buddy," said Mr. Cheliotes. "Now there will be an opportunity to take the tests. And the general public will have as much access to the jobs as anyone else."
A version of this article appears in the October 6, 2014, print issue of Crain's New York Business.