Asked about the issue following a budget hearing Tuesday, Fariña denied the local education council had a role to play in the closure of JHS 145. “There are no zoning lines being eliminated and every school is choice there,” she told reporters. “Parents will be given three to four options of other schools they can apply to.”....NY Post Public Advocate: City’s plan to close Bronx school is illegal
In a letter to Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, James objected to the proposed closure of six schools — but said JHS 145 in The Bronx was of greatest concern because of the legal issues.Yoav reported before the CEC vote last night which I reported on late last night - Community Education Council, District 9, Bronx Votes 7-1 Against Closing JHS 145 - A zoned school--- actually 8-1.
“We are particularly concerned about the proposal to close JHS 145, since it is a zoned middle school and should not be closed without a vote of Community Education Council in District 9,” James wrote. “This vote has not occurred.”
In 2009, then-Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and the NYCLU teamed up with parents to sue the DOE over a similar bypass of local community education councils, which have few powers other than drawing school zoning lines.Given this history, the next step would be for James or the UFT to sue.
The city Department of Education is breaking state law by moving to shutter one of its struggling Bronx Renewal Schools without a vote from the local education board, Public Advocate Letitia James charged Tuesday.
A decision to close JHS 145 and the five other schools will be made Wednesday by the 13-member citywide Panel for Educational Policy — a majority of whom were appointed by Mayor de Blasio.
Asked about the issue following a budget hearing Tuesday, Fariña denied the local education council had a role to play in the closure of JHS 145.
“There are no zoning lines being eliminated and every school is choice there,” she told reporters. “Parents will be given three to four options of other schools they can apply to.”
Parents and education advocates have pinned the failings of JHS 145 on the city’s Renewal Schools program — which they say didn’t come through with promised resources or support.
They say the school lacks needed bilingual teachers and a science lab, while a planned health clinic has yet to open at the site.
At the budget hearing, the DOE for the first time detailed the program’s costs, which are roughly $188 million in the current school year.
This includes $108 million allocated directly to schools and $40 million earmarked for community based organizations.
Providing a director of school renewal for each of the 86 schools still in the program was pegged at $7 million.
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| Parents and supporters flood Hearing Waiting Room to Support Chapter Leader Marilyn Martinez at her hearing, March 10, 2017 |
why is the DOE expending so many resources in keeping this incompetent, despised and heartless principal in place? And why are our children being made to pay the price for this decision?
Jen Roesch... parent
If you know me, you know that I have been part of an 18-month battle against an abusive principal at our son's progressive, East Harlem school, Central Park East 1. We've had the majority of our best, most veteran teachers forced out over the last year and two (the union chapter leader and delegate) have been placed under investigation in an attempt to remove them from teaching.
If paying late is an accepted procedure then maybe no biggie -- just say so. Or is this part of the hidden game being played by the UFT/DOE partnership in order to buy UFT complicence and silence in so many areas? Mulgrew last night said the major problem was abusive principals -- but offered no plan to fight that. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. ....Norm comment
[Mulgrew] Says there is fake news about UFT being two months behind on dues. Says we are never behind on dues. In January city collects them and we don’t get them until March. We’ve always been on time. We have solidified financial shape of union... Arthur Goldstein, UFT Executive Board March 20, 2017--CPE1 in House, JHS 145 Reso Watered DownMike Antonucci in email to ed notes:
Uh, except NYSUT's LM-2 describes the situation as of August 31, when UFT's per caps were between 90-180 days overdue. Sooooo...Now before I post Mike A's just now response to Mulgrew, I must point out that Mike does have an agenda -- and it is not friendly to unions. So I may have heard something Arthur didn't from Mulgrew -- maybe a hint - that people like me reposting anti-unionist's comments may be aiding and abetting our enemies. And I do get that. But there is fake news and then there is truth and if the UFT wants us to bury truth even if coming from places of bad intent, they are helping to dig their own grave.
Public Advocate Letitia James today called on Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina to slam the brakes on plans to shutter six Renewal Schools, saying the DOE has failed to deliver on promises like smaller class sizes and bilingual teachers for immigrant students.Good news from James and a press conference today in advance of tomorrow's PEP votes to close 6 Renewal schools. Keep in mind that this is an Eva Moskowitz takeover school and closing 145 and basically turning the building over to an anti-union, no-excuses repressive school is playing into the Trump/DeVos game plan.
James said she was “particularly concerned” about the DOE’s proposal to close Junior High 145 in the Bronx without the approval of the local Community Education Council. In a letter to Farina, James said state education law “states that CECs must approve any changes in school zoning lines. Elimination of a zoned school is a change in zoning lines.”In the past the UFT went to court to oppose zoned schools being closed without a CEC vote and won. It looks like the CEC is meeting later --- probably to try to force through a vote -- the CEC is split so that should be interesting and the press conf is right before that meeting. Sorry I can't be there.
JHS 145 English Teacher James Donohue said James’ support is a huge shot in the arm for a grassroots campaign to keep the school open that is comprised of students, alumni, teachers, parents, elected officials, community groups, activists and the teachers’ union.I posted videos from the March 6 JHS 145 hearing last night - Videos JHS 145 Hearing: Farina Closing 145 and handing it to Eva echos DeVos/Trump Ed Policy
“We believe Mayor de Blasio and Education Department have a moral and legal obligation not to shutter JHS 145,” Donohue said. “Closing the school brings to mindthe Vietnam-era expression ‘We had to burn the village in order to save it.’ Surely, there are less devastating ways to help students than evicting them from their school and uprooting them. Surely, it is preferable to keep these vulnerable children in the place that they consider a home away from home - while providing crucial resources, like adequate staffing, that they unfortunately have been denied despite being dubbed a ‘Renewal School.’ ”
The campaign to SAVE JHS 145 from being closed by the Department of Education announces a big step forward – and will have a press conference late this afternoon.Press Conference
The campaign to keep 145 open has widespread support, including City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, state Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner, Community Board 4, the New Settlement Organization, the United Federation of Teachers, parents, students and alumni.
Supporters of 145 will be holding a press conference this afternoon before the local Community Education Council meets. The Panel for Educational Police is set to vote on proposed school closings Wednesday, March 22nd.
NYSUT ... has a salary structure unlike anything I've seen in any other organization. In 2014, NYSUT had about 500 employees on its payroll. Something like 60% of the overall NYSUT payroll went to staff members making more than $100,000....
So long as the cash keeps moving from dues-paying members to NYSUT to the AFT to the UFT and back around it can keep its doors open. When any part of that chain-of-cash gets broken, for example when its members stop paying a large portion of their dues, the weakest link in that chain will fail. NYSUT is that weak link....
Harris Lirtzman, Deputy NYS Comptroller for Administration from 2003-2007After I posted Mike Antonucci/EIA report of the NYSUT financials - NYSUT Blues - Dire Finances and ST Criticism of Non-Union Consultant - and the EIA NYSUT financials from last year and the year before - NYSUT Financial Reports from EIA, 2015, 16
On NYSUT Financials
by Harris Lirtzman
March 19, 2017
Two years ago, I reviewed in detail the NYSUT LM-2 for 2014, the same document that Mr. Antonucci reviewed for his analysis.
I concluded a couple of things.
The first thing I found, just like Mr. Antonucci did, was that NYSUT is insolvent on paper and is able to operate only because it is using curious sorts of loans to and from the UFT and AFT and transfers from internal funds earmarked for teacher education and professional development to generate enough cash flow to keep itself running. An organization can be insolvent on paper but still operate so long as it has cash flow to pay its bills--when the cash flow stops and it can't pay its bills it goes bankrupt (for those of you old enough, think about the New York City fiscal crisis in the 1970s when the City was in deep financial trouble for years before it finally ran out of money to pay its bills). If NYSUT goes bankrupt because 25-30% of its members stop paying dues when the Supreme Court upholds "Son of Friedrichs" or the Republicans pass a national right-to-work law, and because the UFT and AFT can’t afford to keep bailing it out, it will no longer be able to defend any teacher, much less Marilyn Martinez, or negotiate any labor contract for its member locals.NYSUT is a Ponzi scheme. So long as the cash keeps moving from dues-paying members to NYSUT to the AFT to the UFT and back around it can keep its doors open. When any part of that chain-of-cash gets broken, for example when its members stop paying a large portion of their dues, the weakest link in that chain will fail. NYSUT is that weak link. No one, but especially not the UNITY folks who now control NYSUT, ever suspected that the cash could stop. But it will stop and soon.
Mr. Antonucci is only partly correct when he says "...honoring the work and commitments made to NYSUT’s unionized staff has resulted in net assets of negative $413 million. The teachers of New York are on the hook for that." He’s right about the desperate financial condition. For better or worse, he’s wrong about who’s going to be left holding the bag.The teachers of NYS are not on the hook for any retirement or health care obligations accrued by current and former NYSUT employees. Those employees are not protected under state law or the state constitution the way that public school teachers are. There is no funded NYSUT pension system available to them like there is in the state and city for teachers. They are protected only by their contract with NYSUT. NYSUT, and only NYSUT, is on the hook for contractual commitments it made to its employees. If--more accurately, when--NYSUT goes bankrupt those retirees will have to get in the same line with every other NYSUT creditor. That means that they will have nothing but the piece of paper on which their contract was written to show for their life time of service on behalf of NYS teachers and will have to take their chance in bankruptcy court along with everyone else to try to get those commitments honored. Good luck with that.
The second thing I found when I looked at NYSUT was that it has a salary structure unlike anything I've seen in any other organization. In 2014, NYSUT had about 500 employees on its payroll. Something like 60% of the overall NYSUT payroll went to staff members making more than $100,000. Yes, 30-40 of these people are highly-paid attorneys. As some of your readers may know, I was Deputy NYS Comptroller for Administration from 2003-2007. I can assure them that I’m aware of no, zero, none, not one non-profit or government agency that pays 60% of its payroll to employees making $100,000 or more a year. I doubt that even Wall Street firms pay more than 60% of their payroll to employees making over $100,000 and I worked as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch and Co. from 1983-1990.No. 1 and No. 2 are connected to each other. If you pay your staff very high salaries you will owe them lots of money for pensions and health care benefits when they retire. You can either make arrangements to pay for those commitments by funding them over time and investing those funds to earn more money. Or you can take cash that comes in today from member dues and use it to pay the benefits you owe your current and retired employees. The first way is prudent but can be expensive. The second way can work but only if everything plays out the way you hope.Things in the Age of T#ump are not working out so well. Hope is a frail thing. When your strategy is based on hope you can wind up bankrupt.
I circulated my findings to a group of people two years ago. I wrote a cover memorandum explaining the enormity of what I thought was going on at NYSUT. I admit that it's not 'sexy' stuff and people told me either that they hoped Stronger Together would take care of the situation or that we ought not to challenge NYSUT when Freidrichs was still on the Court's docket.
We need to figure out what the people who run NYSUT, the UFT and the AFT are doing with our money. We can no longer take at face value any assurances they give us about how they are managing the $1,000 and more that most of us give them each year from our paychecks. They are not using it well. None of this is rocket science.
The people who run NYSUT now won’t be affected by any of this. They’re being paid big bucks or can, like Karen Magee, parachute into special gigs created for them by Michael Mulgrew and Randi Weingarten when they’re no longer useful to them.If what Mr. Antonucci and I think may happen does happen the people who will suffer are the people at NYSUT who work valiantly on our behalf. Just as important, every teacher in the state will suffer because NYSUT’s attorneys protect us when our rights are threatened, NYSUT’s collective bargaining representatives negotiate our contracts every few years and NYSUT’s professional education and development staff give us the credits we need to keep our licenses. We take them for granted. But they may not be there a few years from now when we need them the most.We can keep the worst of this from happening if we take the time, now, to understand how badly NYSUT is managed, how terribly our money is being misused and how much we will lose if we don’t act. I hope that the political strategy works in the long run. I'm afraid that we don't have the long run to find out.Teachers of the state unite! You have nothing to lose but your union.
Sanders has made himself and his platform relevant to Americans in a way Clinton and her crowd never did and still won't. Fine, investigate the Russian - Trump connection but start talking about things that matter enough to people to get them voting. ... comment on NYCEducation listserve
Since Democrats have done things to reduce the role of government, they are in a poor position to defend against Republican attacks on government... On the MediaWords to make the Obama/Clinton wing that controls the Democratic Party cringe. I read somewhere that when leading Dems were asked whether they would go to the Bernie type economic message they said - nahhh, not now -- we'll stick with going after Trump and Russia and taxes --- go ask me if I'll sign another damn petition to see Trump's taxes.
The extent to which the [Trump] proposals would punish the poor was shocking to many in the media -- and statements made by Trump administration officials didn't help. Someone who wasn't shocked was Jack Frech, former welfare director in Athens County, Ohio (and guide for our series, "Busted: America's Poverty Myths"), who has been working with those in poverty for over 30 years. In that time, he has seen many proposals like these, chipping away at the few services available to the poor. Frech talks to Brooke about what he recognizes in the GOP proposals, why he believes the Democrats have often failed to do better, and why many who would be hurt under these plans are still holding out hope that Trump might deliver for them.
Latest Fox News poll finds Sanders the most popular politician by far in the country at 61%.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/15/fox-news-poll-34-voters-favor-gop-health-care-plan.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2017/03/15/fox-news-poll-315/
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-politician-in-the-us-bernie-sanders-fox-news-poll-2017-3
Reasons are pretty clear if you watched the MSNBC town hall from West Virginia with Sanders – with an audience made up of mostly Trump voters-- probably the best thing I’ve seen on TV in months. If you didn’t, I strongly suggest you watch it online.
Amazing, moving, informative show; and explains the anger and the total sense of devastation in these communities – where life expectancy and employment has been falling for years, and opioid addiction is rife. Not that Trump will likely reverse this trend; quite the opposite – as Sanders and others pointed out repeatedly. Here are some clips:
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/5-remarkable-moments-bernie-sanders-town-hall-heart-coal-country
longer clip here: http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/can-trump-bring-boom-days-of-mining-back-to-wv-897150531732
The fact that Sanders isn’t a member of the Democratic party is completely irrelevant. The fact that the Democratic establishment successfully pushed for Tom Perez over Keith Ellison as DNC chair is very discouraging for many reasons, and really does suggest that the Clinton wing of the party hasn’t learned the real lessons from the election.
Perez is an awful spokesperson, with an unclear message; Keith Ellison is not only far more compelling speaker but is smart and has his finger on the overwhelming anger and discontent of millions of voters. He has been repeatedly been elected from a district with a majority white working class voters and knows how to appeal to a far broader constituency.
After Princeton economists Angus Deaton and Ann Case came out with their groundbreaking report showing white mortality rates rising sharply, likely for the first time in US history, Keith Ellison was the ONLY person from Congress to call him to ask why.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/angus-deaton-qa/518880/
Deaton: …I’ll tell you another interesting thing: There’s only one Congressman in all of Congress who called us up to make an appointment to talk to us about the dying white people, because they were in his constituency and he was really concerned about them. Guess who it was.
Lowrey: Who?
Deaton: Keith Ellison! I was really impressed.
Posted: 19 Jan 2015 08:52 AM PSTNew York State United Teachers appears to be too big to fail. Though it raised an additional $1.6 million in revenue, it spent an additional $14 million in staff compensation. The union spent more than 125 percent of its income, contributing to a negative worth of more than $233 million. NYSUT holds more than $305 million in pension and post-retirement health care liabilities for its staff and former employees.
Total membership – 385,566, down 3,781
Total revenue – $133.7 million (88% came from member dues), up $1.6 million
Budget deficit – $34.3 million
Net assets – negative $233.6 million
Total staff – 575
Staff salaries and benefits – $118.6 million
Highest paid employee – Richard Iannuzzi, president, $253,353 base salary
Highest paid contractor – Buchbinder, Tunick & Company, $244,536
New York State United Teachers’ Finances
Written By: Mike Antonucci - Apr• 05•16New York State United Teachers is the teacher union equivalent of “too big to fail.” In 2014 NYSUT increased revenues by $3.7 million and cut staff costs by $17 million and still ran a deficit of almost $14 million. Its gargantuan negative net worth is due to holding staff pension and post-retirement health care liabilities of an astronomical $400 million.
Total membership – 388,875, up 3,309 members
Total revenue – $137.4 million (88.4% came from member dues), up $3.7 million
Deficit – $13.8 million
Net assets – negative $313 million
Total staff – 562
Staff salaries and benefits – $101.6 million
Highest paid employee – Richard Iannuzzi, former president – $254,353 base salary
Highest paid contractor – Herbert L. Jamison & Co. – $635,825
For so long, Democrats demonized and smeared anyone trying to inject basic reason, rationality, and skepticism into this Trump/Russia discourse by labeling them all Kremlin agents and Putin lovers. Just this week, the Center for American Progress released a report using the language of treason to announce the existence of a “Fifth Column” in the U.S. that serves Russia.... Glenn Greenwald
Trump’s critics last year were horrified at the rise of “fake news” and the specter of a politics shaped by alternative facts, predominantly on the right. They need to be careful now not to succumb to the same delusional temptations as their political adversaries, and not to sink into a filter bubble which, after all, draws its strength not from conservative or progressive politics but from human nature.Is Rachel Maddow becoming the Democratic version of Alex Jones? How she has been mocked (Colbert) for her Trump tax fiasco. I don't want to watch the left/liberals act like the right wingnuts.
The information came from NYSUT's Labor Dept filings. If UFT is "fully paid up," it is a recent change. I have no reason to doubt Carl Korn but when reporting I can either choose to believe something he writes in a blog comment, or something NYSUT reports to the federal government under penalty of perjury. And why were the payments overdue?... Mike Antonucci, comment on Ed NotesThere is a lot of intrigue around NYSUT, even extending to internal divisions in MORE over how to deal with the Stronger Together slate running against NY state Unity Caucus. I have had about 10 drafts on ST laying around over the past 2 months, but something new always comes up and I don't finish them. Thus I've left it to my pals Eterno and Goldstein to carry the story -- James supports ST, Arthur has been critical. I pretty much stand with James on this -- might as well support ST over Unity even if they are not perfect. Sitting neutral with Andy Pallotta running for president is not an option.
Jim Horn pointed out:And yet AFT has millions to pour into the Clinton campaign and the Clinton Foundation.
Norm, I'd like to know what Antanucci's source is for the UFT not paying their dues to NYSUT?
A Unity slug, no doubt, left this comment, denying that the UFT hadn't paid its dues:
Facts matter: The assertion that UFT owes NYSUT money is false. Fully paid up.
Keep in mind, Mike comes from the anti-teacher union right, so people are often suspicious. I, however, trust his facts and reporting, if not his interpretations.
The information came from NYSUT's Labor Dept filings. If UFT is "fully paid up," it is a recent change. I have no reason to doubt Carl Korn but when reporting I can either choose to believe something he writes in a blog comment, or something NYSUT reports to the federal government under penalty of perjury. And why were the payments overdue?
ST Caucus Stands in Opposition to NYSUT’s Outsourcing of Union Work.
It has recently been brought to our attention that NYSUT has begun outsourcing work previously performed by NYSUT employees who belong to the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Secretary-Treasurer Martin Messner is now requiring that NYSUT managers send receipts and expense reports to an out-of-state company for processing. The work which was previously completed by CWA members is now being done by Certify, a non-union company. Participation in this outsourcing is required for managers and optional for members of the Professional Staff Union (PSA), who are all refusing to participate.
ST Caucus stands in opposition to any type of anti-union outsourcing. NYSUT members across the state are fighting charter schools, distance learning, and similar outsourcing schemes. We are perplexed and disheartened by the decision made by our current officers to subcontract the work of our union brothers and sisters. According to Secretary-Treasurer candidate Nate Hathaway, “This flies in the face of our core values as unionists. We must not fall into the trap of pursuing expediency at the expense of what is right. Union workers are paid more because they defend the value of the individual worker and the concept that a worker should have protections in the workplace and be compensated with a reasonable, living wage. What do we stand for as an organization if we espouse these principles in grand platitudes, yet pursue a policy of employing the services of those not afforded the very rights we claim to fight for? This is very disheartening news.”
To address the budget issues that exist within NYSUT, our officers need to reduce costs through a transparent process that honors the work and commitments made to our unionized staff. Any local leader who experienced the devastating budget cuts of the last decade knows the key components to an effective cost savings strategy. To reduce the budget of an organization and not have it lose its core purpose, cost savings must be transparent, involve shared sacrifice, and be mutually agreed upon by all parties. ST Caucus supports the elimination of one officer position (a 20% savings in officer salaries and expenses) and a 15% reduction in officer salaries. Unlike the current officers, ST Caucus believes that fiscal responsibility starts at the top, not by outsourcing the work of some of our lowest paid employees at NYSUT.I can pretty much agree with all of the above.
ST Caucus Executive Board
So Mike is pinning the entire deficit on obligations to unionized staff. He provided numbers last time that made me dizzy - but check them out and it looks like he is right. Read his analysis if you have the stomach - http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2017/03/nysutuft-finances-in-distress.htmlUnion’s Internal Cost-Cutting Is Thorny
The finances of New York State United Teachers are a mess, but NYSUT’s officers are not entirely blind to the problem. When a union tries to cut its costs, it not only runs into labor unrest with its own employees, it might also provide political fodder for internal opponents.
Case in point: NYSUT sought to save a few bucks by hiring Certify, a company that supplies mobile apps and reporting tools for the processing of expense reports. This task is usually done in-house.
The staff contract bans outsourcing of work previously done by bargaining unit members without the staff union’s permission. NYSUT had to make the new process optional for employees, and evidently every single one of them has refused to use Certify.
NYSUT managers and executives, however, are not members of the staff union, and are required to use Certify. This irritated not only the staff union, but also Stronger Together, the opposition caucus within NYSUT that is running candidates for the union’s executive positions. It posted its complaint, which I excerpt here:
We are perplexed and disheartened by the decision made by our current officers to subcontract the work of our union brothers and sisters. According to Secretary-Treasurer candidate Nate Hathaway, “This flies in the face of our core values as unionists. We must not fall into the trap of pursuing expediency at the expense of what is right. Union workers are paid more because they defend the value of the individual worker and the concept that a worker should have protections in the workplace and be compensated with a reasonable, living wage. What do we stand for as an organization if we espouse these principles in grand platitudes, yet pursue a policy of employing the services of those not afforded the very rights we claim to fight for? This is very disheartening news.”A noble sentiment, but honoring the work and commitments made to NYSUT’s unionized staff has resulted in net assets of negative $413 million. The teachers of New York are on the hook for that.
To address the budget issues that exist within NYSUT, our officers need to reduce costs through a transparent process that honors the work and commitments made to our unionized staff.
http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2017/03/17/unions-internal-cost-cutting-is-thorny/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Intercepts+%28Intercepts%29
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| Lucky I live at the beach |
