Tuesday, September 2, 2008

News round up from first day of school

Stories in the NY Times, NY Sun, Post, and Daily News about the Bloomberg’s determination to do everything he can to renew Mayoral control – including helping to form a $20 million political action committee to lobby the legislature to renew it. Comptroller Thompson blows up at Bloomberg’s evasive statements about overturning term limits.

Yoav Gonen of the NY Post finds that the administration is now spending more than $16 million for surplus assistant principals – who can’t be fired. Instead, some principals appear to prefer to name inexperienced teachers, who most probably have to be paid less out of school budgets due to the administration’s crazy fair student funding scheme.

Add that to the estimated $19 million (according to the UFT) or $81 million (according to the New Teacher Project) in wasted taxpayer funds going to pay the salaries of more than 200 experienced teachers who are sitting in the Absent Teacher reserve -- and who instead should have been used to reduce class size -- and you have a mess of the costliest proportions.

Gonen also finds that more than two years after the Mayor’s cell phone ban, and a year after cell phone lockers were supposed to be installed outside 16 city middle and high schools, not a single locker has arrived at any school grounds.

Read this Daily News oped protesting the administration’s latest plan to test Kindergarten students. And this Daily News article revealing that despite all the high stakes testing imposed in our schools, and all the claimed improvements, two-thirds of city high school graduates entering CUNY schools have to take remedial classes

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My sons first day was great I need to know why in the public school all other religious and fork laws are taught except the american. Santa Claus and Christmas is not to be talked about in the board of ed. A dragon, a draddle and kuanza is permitted what happen to the americans...