Children First

There's a big shiny ballpark near where the old Yankee Stadium was.  The new stadium took the place of where South Bronx children used to play.  But it was a fair trade--the kids would get new parks where the old stadium used to be.  The only problem is it never happened.  And three and a half years later, the neighborhood kids are still waiting.  Why, that's more time than it takes Mayor Mike to phase out those kids' schools.

Mayor Mike is passionate about parks.  That's why he went to court and fought for the right of affluent private school children to have public parks in sweetheart deals.  But it's children first with Mayor Mike, so public school kids can count on being screwed quickly and often.  It's no parks for them until he's good and ready.  Let them go play on rooftops and in abandoned buildings.  It will teach them how the world works.

Let's see what gets built first--parks for public school children or the 72 million dollar charter buildings for Mayor Mike's BFFs--even as tens of thousands of public schoolchildren don't have seats.

I don't usually gamble, but I'll take the action on this one if anyone's interested.  Place your bets in the comments section.

Mr. Bloomberg Declares Randall's Island Free for All

In another magnanimous gesture, city officials announced that Randall's Field would soon be open to all students, private and public alike. Sure the city leased the fields to private schools from 3 to 6 on weekdays, but the bootless and unhorsed are still free to run their dirty little legs around after that.

And to show what great guys they are, Mayor Mike and Uncle Joel didn't even charge the private schools interest (Ask your bank for a deal like that).

Sure, this arrangement precludes the possibility of most sports teams from public schools using the fields after school. But team sports are overrated, as the value of teamwork will probably not improve test scores. Ask yourselves honestly--could public team sports really improve the images of Mike Bloomberg and Joel Klein?

Fortunately, due to chronic neglect and massive overcrowding, some city schools don't even close till almost 6 PM. Everyone knows public school kids never do homework anyway, so why not just send 'em then?

In any case, the little urchins have the fields pretty much to themselves as soon as the Dalton kids have had the run of the place, so what's the problem? Let them stay there until 3 AM if they like. Let them sleep there. Let their families join them. Everyone knows how expensive rent is here in the Big Apple.

But they better get their asses out of there before the Dalton kids get back, if they know what's good for them.

Mr. Bloomberg Addresses the Facts

Mayor Mike claims his critics favor a return to "failure, indifference and paralysis." Those are things of the past, claims hizzoner. Consider how things have changed. What about the unqualified success of charter schools? What about his record of achievement?

To buttress his position, Mayor Mike appeared with a completely impartial group of those who understand common sense:

...the group was composed of many people who also have business dealings with the school system, including two former Education Department officials, leaders of nonprofit organizations that are helping to run schools and high-profile donors who have given millions to support the mayor’s work.

That ought to make it perfectly clear his critics lack the vision to privatize public schools. None of them are willing to construct public schools on contaminated sites while concurrently giving Randall's Island to private schools in a sweetheart deal. Which of them would devote a former school building to new condos while sending public school kids to study in brownfields? How many of them have the vision to close schools in the face of unconscionable overcrowding?

Which of them would jail a thirteen-year-old girl for writing on a desk? And which of them has the courage to blatantly fudge statistics, so as to improve the dropout rate?

But the worst of it was when he went after UFT President Randi Weingarten. Ms. Weingarten supported and enabled mayoral control, gave up guaranteed placement for senior teachers, sent every working teacher back to the lunchroom forever, gave away the UFT transfer plan, allowed her members to be suspended for 90 days based on unsubstantiated allegations, and did all that and more for less than cost of living.

Mayor Mike needs to stop criticizing Ms. Weingarten. Instead, he should place her statue on the dashboard of his limo.

Mr. Blomberg's Integrity Is Called Into Question

Despite Mayor Mike's personal assurances that contaminated land is good enough for New York City schoolchildren, a group of uppity lawyers is taking him to court, simply because he failed to live up to cleanup recommendations.

The organization claims the city has failed to live up to a deal to adhere to recommendations made by an environmental consultant for the $235 million plan.

Mayor Mike's rep says it's "unconscionable" to object to the current plan, as the city and state say it's good enough for public school kids. Next, they'll be asking them to build schools on Randall's Island. Though Randall's Island doesn't happen to be contaminated, it's earmarked for private school kids. It's a well-known fact that private school kids are more sensitive than public school kids, and more susceptible to contamination.

Furthermore, the deep pockets of their parents can make for longer and more protracted lawsuits.

Another Day in Mr. Bloomberg's New York

Boy, those wacky Edison Schools vets are certainly beloved by Mayor Bloomberg.

The Education Department has hired the former head of a tutoring company that was slammed last year for "bribing" students and allowing people with criminal records to interact with kids.

Joel Rose, the former general manager of the Newton Learning company, was hired last month as the $149,000-a-year chief of staff to Deputy Chancellor Christopher Cerf, school officials said.

Mayor Bloomberg, while building ballfields for rich kids on your dime, has determined folks who hire criminals to tutor your kids aren't so bad. After all, how can ex-Edison employees do their thing if they can't have their peeps around?

It's Children First in Bloomberg's New York. That means first we take care of the rich people's children, then we take care of their parents, then we take care of their cronies, and the rest of the kids get their schools closed down, which is fine, because we've stopped their bus service to economize anyway.

The deal to give Randall's Island to a bunch of rich kids turns out to have been illegal, but the Mayor plans to make it legal sometime in the future, so everything is fine.

And, to serve you better, Mayor Bloomberg didn't waste city money cleaning the streets many of us had to drive on yesterday, but gave you a ticket if you didn't dig the slush off your car and move it yesterday. After all, we have laws in this city, and there must be immediate consequences for non-billionaires who defy them.

Moving Ahead

Mayor Bloomberg has succeeded in his plan to give away 66% of the public ballfields on Randall's Island to wealthy private schools, via a no-interest 20-year loan (a fact that seemed to escape the NY papers). He's done so with the full blessing of city Controller Bill Thompson, who had previously objected.

A lot of teachers, myself included, had thought that placing Democrats in key positions might be helpful to city schoolchildren, teachers, and working people in general. Given Mr. Thompson's support for this plan, I no longer think it's that simple. Take a look at Governor Spitzer, who'd promised to lower class sizes, but now makes it a menu choice, along with longer school days and years, both of which we already have in NYC, and neither of which has much helped anyone.

Perhaps Governor Spitzer can credit Bloomberg and UFT President Randi Weingarten for already having instituted this plan, what with their having negotiated the longest school year in the area already. Then, Mayor Bloomberg can get the extra cash without frittering it away on those troublesome CFE demands (good teachers, small classes, and decent facilities).

Also, take a look at how Whitney Tilson on the pro-voucher blog Edspresso loves Governor Spitzer's approach. Why on earth do you suppose Randi Weingarten loves it too? Spitzer's running for president, and so is Ms. Weingarten. We'd better line up some real allies, or New York City's kids may soon need to run as well. Where?

Nassau, where I live (because I couldn't afford the area in which I work), looks better every day, and while I'm beginning to wish Suozzi had beaten Spitzer (I voted for Spitzer in the primary and the election, hoping he'd follow CFE's recommendations, rather than "reform"), I'm glad we still have Suozzi here.

My kid's school is excellent. Why? It has good teachers, small classes, and decent facilities. That seems to work, but it's not what I'd call a "reform."

Politicians like "reforms." I don't much like politicians today, though.

More Than Meets the Eye

This story got my attention, but not enough of it. Now-bankrupt Platform Learning got over 63 million bucks for tutoring, though the no-bid contract from Tweed projected a mere 7.6 million. When you look a little closer at the Platform Learning Leadership Team, you find that both of its major executives are former employees of Edison Schools.

Despite the repeated insistence of DoE employees from Chancellor Joel Klein on down that they are not privatizing NYC schools, there is a definite pattern emerging here. When you consider that Joel Klein saw fit to appoint former Edison Schools president Christopher Cerf (who conveniently sold his interest in Edison only the day before he took questions from a parents' group) deputy chancellor, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure what the pattern is, either.

When you consider the city paid Platform more than it would've cost to preserve the use of Randall's Island for New York City's 1.1 million schoolchildren, the priorities of this administration become crystal clear.

I only wish the residents of this city, along with the New York Times, would clean their windshields a little so they could see too. Fiscally bankrupt is one thing. Morally bankrupt is altogether different, and our kids deserve better.

Gracias al ángel misterioso

Pay to Play

Randall's Island, it appears, is bound for a new look. All we had to do was devote most of the island to private schools for a brief 20 years. After all, we're talking about 52.4 million bucks, and the private schools are gonna pay for it (over 20 years). The city doesn't have that kind of money (multi-billion surpluses are for other things). Unless, of course, it's paying even more than that for a no-bid tutoring contract, another valuable public-private partnership.

What this is about is values, and public school children simply don't cut it. Mayor Bloomberg could have built a school here, but he's using contaminated fields in the Bronx instead. Do you remotely imagine Dalton kids would play there? Do you think billionaire stadium owners would construct in a place like that?

No, Randall's Island is a playground for the rich in more ways than one. On Independence Day, Bloomberg LP (run by guess who), roped off a good portion of it for two weeks so it could have a private party.

Randalls Island Sports Foundation officials refused this week to answer questions about how much the company paid to use the park or what the foundation's policy is for private parties on the island.

Why don't you give 'em a call and ask whether you can have you can close part of it for your kid's birthday party this summer?

Even though Randalls Island has always been considered part of East Harlem, there is not a single resident of that neighborhood on the foundation's board....

That's because the mayor knows whats best for everyone, and excellent schools and parks are best for those who can pay for them. For everyone else, you know the drill.

Update: Class Size Matters states that the private schools are paying only half the cost for this new construction. Try getting a 20 year, no-interest loan when you buy something:

Contrary to what has been written in the press and elsewhere, the private school payments amount to less than half of the cost of this project. The present value of the annual payments by the private schools is only $33.2 million, while these fields are projected to cost between $70 and $ 80 million. Moreover, there is the considerable cost of maintaining them, which the city is expected to cover.

I Want It, I Want It All, and I Want It Now!

So says Mayor Mike, referring to the school he wishes to build on a toxic site. After all, toxic waste is a real product of our contemporary society, and Mayor Mike is a hands-on guy. Don't expect to see his hands, or those of his kids anywhere near the place, but it's high time public school children got a firsthand look at it.

While Mayor Mike and his minions claim it's absolutely safe (and since their kids attend private schools, what's the difference?), I can't help but notice that the most he ever proposes luxury housing and sports stadiums on contaminated land is never. Now that, in my view, is not a very high percentage.

Mayor Mike had promised to partially pay for and wait on an independent environmental assessment, but why wait? After all, what if they decide against the project? If Mayor Mike wants it, he wants it, and it must be a good idea, because why would he want it if it weren't? Available non-contaminated fields on Randall's Island are needed for private schools. The Livingston Street building is being converted to condominiums.

I once cornered a Tweed spokesperson and questioned him about the city's actions, which I considered superficial and ineffectual, particularly when compared to what works. His defense was the following:

"Well, at least we're doing something."

If you really want to do something, Class Size Matters has a suggestion:

Call Speaker Quinn’s office today - let her know that this she should allow a vote to block this plan from going forward; this sort of double-dealing on the part of the city should not be allowed, especially since the health of our children is at stake: 212- 788-7210.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Quick, Let's Give it to Dalton)

Mayor Mike is all heart. Instead of leasing public parks to private schools for 30 years, he's going to try for 20 and see how that works out. Also, he's now proposing to give only 66% of the Randall's Island ballfields to private schools instead of 80%.

But no one has actually seen the proposed contract, according to Leonie Haimson, so whatever you may think, it's a tough call.

City Controller William Thompson and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer held a meeting to keep residents informed, at least as far as they're informed. Juan Gonzalalez writes:

Legally, Stringer and Thompson have no power to stop the deal. Both have a vote on the Franchise and Concession Review Committee, but Bloomberg controls four votes and doesn't need their support to get a contract approved. The mayor is even trying to change the rules of the franchise board so that its members can't review the details of any sole-source contract until the day of a vote.

Stringer initially wanted half of the Randalls Island fields set aside for the city's public schools. He was told the private schools would accept no less than two-thirds of the fields for their own students.

Our mayor, rather than dip into the city's huge surplus to finance the Randalls Island renovation directly, is only too happy to let the rich private schools buy their way into privileged access to a public park.

In East Harlem and the South Bronx, they're accustomed to after-Christmas sales, but now even the parks are up for grabs. What's next - carve your name in a tree for a fee?

Thanks to Schoolgal

Mayor Mike Helps His Peers

Juan Gonzalez, my absolute favorite Daily News columnist, has just weighed in on Mayor Bloomberg's plan to make sure no Dalton School rich kid got left behind. After all, the mayor's kids attended schools like this, and it's his job to make sure that his kids' kids have the best facilities money can buy, even if it means the bootless and unhorsed have to pony up.

Otherwise where will those poor rich kids ride their ponies?

Under the deal, one that Parks Department officials quietly negotiated during the past year without soliciting bids, 20 of Manhattan's richest private schools will have exclusive use every weekday afternoon for the next 30 years to more than 50 new and refurbished athletic fields at Randalls Island.

That's an average of three fields each per private school.

Meanwhile, thousands of poor and working-class students who attend 58 public schools in nearby East Harlem must make do today with eight neighborhood baseball and soccer fields for all of their after-school sports.

And one of those fields, at 96th St. and Second Ave., is slated to disappear as a staging area for construction of the Second Ave. subway line.

Parks officials see nothing wrong with giving rich private schools enough new "public" fields for them to schedule several games per day, while the East Harlem schools will be lucky to find a free field a couple of times a month.

The callousness and cynicism of this administration defies belief. What's really incredible, though, is how the public jumps hook, line and sinker for "reforms" that do nothing whatsoever to aid the public school system.

Thanks to Patrick and Schoolgal

Please, Sir, May I Have Some More?

Because Mayor Bloomberg cares so deeply about public education, he's leasing the ball fields on Randall's Island to 20 elite private schools. This will buy them 80% of the use of these fields after school.

To ensure the city doesn't profit in any way whatsoever, Mayor Mike is paying 70 mil up front and letting them pay back 85 million over thirty years. Crazy Mike is practically giving those facilities away!

The city is improving 31 fields and creating 34 new ones for the ever-needy private school kids. On the bright side, since only 80% of the space is being leased, NYC's 1.1 million public school students will get to divide the remaining 20% amongst themselves.

No, you can't have more. Now be good little boys and girls and move to the back of the bus.

Thanks to Patrick