Playstation Tech Support

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Walcott Misuses Public Funds and Public Space For Political Ends and Must Be Held Accountable

Posted on 21:33 by Unknown
Guest column By A. P. Salamander

If ever there’s been a moment revealing how grossly Mike Bloomberg has diminished and twisted the office of Chancellor of Education from an independent advocate of students to a highly paid political shill of the mayor, it was found in Chancellor Dennis Walcott’s transparent politicking of behalf on Bloomberg before an audience of principals at Brooklyn Tech High School this past Saturday, May 18. This is no small matter. For a public official to be publicly politicking in a public building to publicly paid civil servants under the pretense of a conference on public education is utterly immoral and cannot possibly be legal.

To give you some context, a teacher wearing an “Occupy the DOE “ button on his or her overcoat at school can be cited and written up for professional misconduct. 

Consider Walcott’s act in the context of the following rules from the Department of Education’s Chancellor’s Regulation D-130,
(http://docs.nycenet.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-86/D-130__1-15-04.pdf) which clearly states, “ School buildings are not public forums for purposes of community or political expression.”
And: “ Any officer or employee who violates the provisions of this regulation is subject to disciplinary action.” 

And: “ No rallies, forums, programs, etc. on behalf of, or for the benefit of any elected official, particular candidate, candidates, slate of candidates, or political organization/ committee may be held in a school building.”
And: “The use of any Department of Education school after school/business hours by any person, group, organization, committee, etc, on behalf of any elected official, candidate, candidates, slates of candidates or political /committee is prohibited.” 

Walcott either does not know the regulations he is meant to enforce or does know and does not believe he must adhere to them. Either way it is a horrific abuse of power and one for which Walcott should resign or be fired. 

Wolcott’s hyperbolic harangue against unnamed Democratic candidates who have rejected 12 years of Bloomberg education policies and were painted by Walcott as pawns of the teachers union, received wide media attention. Remarkably, neither the legality of Wolcott’s rant nor the waste of public funds was mentioned in any of the press coverage the event received.
Indeed, as reported in Saturday’s New York Times, Walcott even announced the “campaign” and the speech beforehand. 

“Dennis M. Walcott, the schools chancellor, is planning a campaign to remind voters of what he sees as the administration’s chief accomplishments, including rises in graduation rates and test scores. He will call on the candidates to put forth a compelling vision for city schools.
Mr. Walcott will begin his effort on Saturday, in a speech before nearly 2,000 school administrators. He will warn that the school system could fall into disarray if the policies endorsed by the Democratic candidates are put into effect.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/nyregion/schools-chancellor-to-strike-back-at-candidates-critical-of-mayors-policies

Walcott’s transgression can not be allowed to pass as nothing. Walcott must be held accountable for his actions. 

If you agree, call the Special Commissioner of Investigation at 212 510 1500 and demand an investigation. If enough of us do, we cannot be ignored. 

See article below.
New York Schools Chief Warns Against Changes




Dennis M. Walcott, the schools chancellor, spoke at a conference on Saturday.

By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ
May 18, 2013

Warning that the fate of New York City education was “hanging in the balance,” Dennis M. Walcott, the schools chancellor, suggested on Saturday that the school system was at risk of falling into disarray in the hands of a new mayor.
Mr. Walcott, in his latest salvo against the Democrats running for mayor, said city schools had reached a “new day” and that efforts to chip away at Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s 11-year reform effort were misguided.
“Halting the momentum of this extraordinary transformation would be a tragedy,” Mr. Walcott told an audience of more than 1,100 school administrators gathered for a conference at Brooklyn Technical High School.
The Democratic candidates for mayor have promised to reverse some of Mr. Bloomberg’s signature policies, including closing low-performing schools and providing space to charter schools. Those promises have caused distress in City Hall, though the Republican candidates have generally embraced the approach of Mr. Bloomberg, who leaves office at the end of the year.
Mr. Walcott’s speech seemed intended to be a rallying cry before a friendly crowd, but the response was muted. While his calls for preserving the authority of principals and eradicating nepotism were met with applause, some principals seemed uninterested in his message.
Laughter broke out in some corners after Mr. Walcott explained that he was not looking to be a kingmaker. “I don’t like to involve myself in politics,” he said.
Renel Piton, the principal of Brooklyn Lab School, said he shared Mr. Walcott’s concern about the candidates for mayor and did not want them to “gut reform for the sake of gutting.” Still, he said he was surprised the chancellor chose to use a speech at an academic conference to weigh in on a political battle.
“We need to focus on what’s going on in schools,” Mr. Piton said. “I don’t come on a Saturday to listen to their views on the candidates.”
Brian DeVale, principal of Public School 257 in Brooklyn, applauded when Mr. Walcott began discussing the old way of running schools, before the State Legislature handed the mayor authority over the school system in 2002. Mr. DeVale, an opponent of mayoral control, said he thought Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Walcott were too authoritarian in their approach.
“I sat and listened to a political lecture from an administration I have no interest in,” Mr. DeVale, who is a union representative, said after the speech.
John C. Liu, the city comptroller and a Democratic contender for mayor, said he was puzzled by Mr. Walcott’s suggestion that the candidates were pandering to the teachers’ union.
“Candidates respond to complaints and concerns about the status quo,” Mr. Liu said in a telephone interview. “Candidates don’t manufacture concern.”
Even the Department of Education’s chief academic officer, Shael Polakow-Suransky, waded into the political fray, urging principals to support efforts to overhaul the school system.
Mr. Polakow-Suransky said he was so distraught by the attacks on the campaign trail that he called the chancellor of the Washington school system, Kaya Henderson, for advice.
In response, according to Mr. Polakow-Suransky, Ms. Henderson offered a variation on an African proverb: “The elephants are going to be fighting, but don’t forget to tend the grass.”
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Video: Chicago Students Tossed From Board of Education Meeting
    Video of Chicago students taking over the Board of Education Meeting to save schools, prevent education cuts. From Xian Barrett: Published o...
  • Cavanagh Refused to Cooperate with NY Post Article on Mulgrew "Chicken" on Debate
    Every day I am reminded why Julie Cavanagh is not just MORE's presidential candidate but a true leader and why I defer to someone half m...
  • Change the Stakes to Discuss DOE's Bankrupt Student Promotion Policies, MORE Study Group on HST
    Our meetings are always open and all are welcome.  I can guarantee a lively discussion!  Promotion policies will be the focus on the agenda...
  • I Echo Jersey Jazzman in Support for CORE in CTU Election on Friday
    Aside from everything else, just look at the ed deformers supporting Karen Lewis' opponents: The soon to be owned by Koch brothers Chica...
  • Parents Present Pearson With $38 Million Invoice for Use of Child Labor for Field Tests
    VISIT CHANGE THE STAKES Press Contacts: Kemala Karmen optout@parentvoicesny.org                                 Janine Sopp   janinesopp@gm...
  • As Ed Deform Failures Mount, Mid-Course Correction for Former Cheerleaders Merrow, Goldstein, Weingarten
    Cheating is not the problem that must be addressed. It is the most visible and disturbing symptom of the disease, but the disease itself...
  • Gotham Links to Bogus Charter School Wait List Reports
    An appropriate analogy might be if Harvard began referring to the 32,994 students it didn’t admit this year as a “waiting list,” then adde...
  • MORE Weekly Update #65, Sept. 2, 2013
    Happy Labor Day from MORE! View this email in your ...
  • Dana Goldstein on L.A. Teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl and the Real Deal Behind Closing Schools
    On Monday, half the teachers at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles found out they had been dismissed from their jobs as part of a "c...
  • Matt Damon Still a Save Our Schools Superstar
    This week Jeb Bush, a shameless supporter of these destructive corporate reform policies, had the audacity to criticize Matt Damon for choo...

Categories

  • 3020a hearing
  • Achievement First
  • achievement gap
  • AFT
  • AFT. UFT
  • Alex Caputo-Pearl
  • Andrew Cuomo
  • Anthony Weiner
  • APPR
  • arne duncan
  • atr
  • Barbara Byrd-Bennett
  • Barbara Morgan
  • Beth Hawkins
  • Bill de Blasio
  • Bill di Blasio
  • Bill Gates
  • Bill Keller
  • Bill Thompson
  • Brian Lehrer
  • Cami Anderson
  • Campbell Brown
  • Carol Burris
  • Chancellor Dennis Walcott
  • Change the stakes
  • Charles Blow
  • charter school
  • charter co-locations
  • charter school hearings
  • charter school lobby
  • charter schools
  • Chicago
  • Chicago Teachers Union
  • Chris Cerf
  • Christine Quinn
  • Christine Rubino
  • Citizens of the World charter
  • closing schools
  • Co-locations
  • Colocations
  • common core
  • Common Core Standards
  • Confessions of a Bad Teacher
  • Corey Booker
  • Danielson
  • Danielson framwork
  • David Steiner
  • Dearborn
  • Deborah Kenny
  • Democracy Prep
  • Dennis Van Roekel
  • Dennis Walcott
  • DFER
  • Diane Ravitch
  • District 14
  • drones
  • E3MN
  • E4E
  • ed deform
  • Education Nation
  • education reform
  • Educators 4 excellence
  • educators for excellence
  • eduwonkette
  • Eric Grannis
  • Erminia Claudio
  • Eva Moskowitz
  • Eva Moskowtiz
  • Evaluations
  • FairTest
  • field tests
  • Francesco Portelos
  • Fred Smith
  • Gates foundation
  • George Schmidt
  • Gotham schools
  • hannah Nguyen
  • Harlem Success Academy
  • Harlem Village Academy
  • high stakes testing
  • high stakes tests
  • High-Stakes Testing
  • House of Cards
  • ICE
  • inBloom
  • Jeb Bush
  • Jennifer Jennings
  • Jennifer Jones Rogers
  • Joe Lhota
  • Joel Klein
  • John B King
  • John King
  • John Liu
  • John Merrow
  • John Owens
  • jonathan halabi
  • Julie Cavanagh
  • Karen Lewis
  • KIPP
  • La Casita
  • LATU
  • Leo Casey
  • Leonie Haimson
  • Leticia James
  • Malcolm Smith
  • Matt Damon
  • mayoral control
  • mayoral election
  • Merryl Tisch
  • Mexico Teachers
  • Michael Benjamin
  • Michael Mulgrew
  • Michelle Rhee
  • Milton Friedman
  • MORE
  • MOSL
  • Movement of Rank and File Educators
  • Murry Bergtraum HS
  • National Education Association
  • nea
  • neo-liberalism
  • New Action
  • New Action-UFT
  • New Action/UFT
  • NEW Caucus
  • New Orleans
  • New York State Education Department
  • Newark
  • NPR
  • NY State Education Department
  • NY State Teacher Evaluations
  • NY Times
  • NY-GPS
  • NYC Teacher Evaluations
  • NYCDOE
  • nycore
  • NYSED
  • Obamacare
  • Office of Portfolio Planning
  • opt-out
  • Panel for educational policy
  • Paul Krugman
  • Paul Vallas
  • PAVE Academy
  • Pearson
  • PEP
  • pre-k
  • PS 15K
  • Public Advocate
  • race to the top
  • Rahm Emanuel
  • Rand Paul
  • Randi Weingarten
  • Reed Hastings
  • Reign of Error
  • Reza Aslan
  • Rockaway Theatre Company
  • scab
  • school closings
  • Seattle Teachers Association
  • Shael Polakow-Suransky
  • Skinny Awards
  • social justice unionism
  • SOS
  • Students United for Public Education
  • Substance
  • Success Academy
  • Success Charter Network
  • SUPE
  • Susan Fuhrman
  • Susan Ohanian
  • TDA
  • Teach for America
  • teacher data reports
  • teacher evaluation
  • teacher evaluations
  • Teachers College
  • TFA
  • The Daily Howler
  • The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman
  • The Wave
  • this week in ed notes
  • Tim Wise
  • Tony Avella
  • town hall
  • Tweed
  • Twinkie
  • UFT
  • UFT charter school
  • UFT elections
  • UFT history
  • union busting
  • Unity Caucus
  • WAGPOPS
  • Waiting for Superman
  • Washington DC
  • Win Back Wednesday
  • wnyc
  • Zealot
  • Zeke Vanderhoek

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (500)
    • ►  October (71)
    • ►  September (80)
    • ►  August (70)
    • ►  July (66)
    • ►  June (62)
    • ▼  May (60)
      • Norm in The Wave: I Was Tossed From Anthony Weiner...
      • This is new….The PAVE Pre-K contract is listed as ...
      • DOE Allows Charter Schools to Set Up Stealth Pre-K...
      • Video - Mayoral Debate on Education: The Winner is...
      • Newark Union Election: NEW Vision Opposed by Randi...
      • The Next Phase in Refuting the Status Quo of Ed De...
      • Arthur Goldstein, Gary Rubinstein to be Honored at...
      • Assaulting the Walls of Ed Deform, NYSUT June 8 "O...
      • The assessment reform movement continues to gather...
      • UPDATE: Weiner Agrees as Quinn Drops Out of GPS De...
      • Dear Mr. Condon: On May 18, 2013, Dennis M. Walco...
      • SHAME: Gala More Proof Success Charter and Wealthy...
      • Obama Cuts Drones But Can't Guarantee Safety of Ka...
      • John Merrow's Growing Relentlessness on Rhee Cheat...
      • Jitu Weusi Passes
      • Walcott Misuses Public Funds and Public Space For ...
      • Democracy Prep at the Central Park Zoo to Honor Jo...
      • Video: Presidents of the Teachers Unions Exposed
      • E4E Free Lunch Turned Away After Agenda Disclosed
      • Thursday: Advocates plan to protest $66 million ta...
      • Teachers College Protest Stories and Pics - Update...
      • VAM This: Is This a New Definition of an Effective...
      • Noon Today: TEACHERS COLLEGE STUDENTS AND FACULTY ...
      • Change the Stakes High States Testing Updates - Fi...
      • Astounding NY Times Editorial Spells Doom for Ed D...
      • Whining Walcott in Blatant Misuse of Position Subj...
      • TIME CHANGE TO NOON Tuesday: Join us in support of...
      • UFT Tilts to Thompson: Tisch, D'Amato, New Action ...
      • Astoria Queens District 30: SUNY CHARTER SCHOOLS I...
      • Hypocrisy and Protest Over Merryl Tisch Teachers C...
      • Closing Schools: 3 Day March in Chicago Plus Lee S...
      • Critic Endorses CORE and Lewis in CTU Elections Wh...
      • I Echo Jersey Jazzman in Support for CORE in CTU E...
      • Teachers Send a Message
      • NATIONAL TEACHER PETITION: Tell Teachers College t...
      • Help E4E, No One is Noticing
      • Fred Smith on Pearson Mergers and a Poem
      • How Did I Get Top Billing Over Matt Damon?
      • “No” to Testing: More and More City Parents Boycot...
      • Providence Student Union: Take the Test - Updated ...
      • MORE Weekly Update #53: Join us at MORE's last gen...
      • Portelos: 9:30 AM Update - I recorded and didn't h...
      • Drama Today, 9AM: Portelos Challenges "No Recordin...
      • Chicago Teachers Union Plans 3 Day March to Oppose...
      • Friday: Change the Stakes Meeting Focuses on Comin...
      • When Davids Boo Goliaths Do They Lack Civility?
      • Updated: Jennifer Jennings (formerly Eduwonkette) ...
      • NYCDOE Charter Hits Keep Coming on PAVE Favoratism...
      • WAGPOPS Has Partner in LAPOPS in Cross Country Bat...
      • MORE General Meeting Saturday, May 11 at Noon, MOR...
      • Weapons of Mass Destruction: Bloomberg Robs Public...
      • Stop the Machine: Put your bodies upon the gears a...
      • Obama Supports Chicago Schools by Nominating Pritz...
      • Norm in The Wave: Opt Out Movement Grows
      • Stop Pearson Child Abuse: Get Ready to Rumble - er...
      • Randi's "Mid-Course" Babble on Common Core: Who's ...
      • As Ed Deform Failures Mount, Mid-Course Correction...
      • Dana Goldstein on L.A. Teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl a...
      • UFT Election Comparison Spreadsheet and Victory Pa...
      • Charter Shill and Slimeball Michael Benjamin Joins...
    • ►  April (67)
    • ►  March (24)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile