Subject: february 1st, 2015 I sent this letter to Gov Cuomo and the local media, here in upstate NY. It talks about the unfair treatment of public school teachers, inadequate public school funding and the dismantling of the Moreland Anti-Corruption commission by the governor.
Gov. Cuomo,
I have been a teacher for over 14 years and I am really disappointed by your lack of interest and concern for our public schools and teachers in general. You keep on taking funds away from poor/urban schools, but keep adding burdens on schools and teachers. You want to increase the weight of state test from 20 to 50 percent. How can you expect to improve education by taking away support and funds?
We, teachers, have to deal with many children who come from poor homes and children that do not speak English. These children cannot get help at home, because poor parents are too busy working overtime to make ends meet, and the parents of children who do not know English cannot help them either because these parents are not literate (cannot speak English).
You also want to have independent observers who will observe/evaluate teachers (e.g., a principal, an administrator from outside or within the school district, a SUNY/CUNY professor, or a trained independent evaluator). You want to do this because you do not trust the current system- teachers and their administrators.
Don’t you think you should clean up your own house before you accuse teachers/administrators of not being honest in their evaluations? Are being hypocritical? You dismantle the Moreland Anti corruption Commission! You promised to fight this scourge in Albany- you appointed a commission that was supposed to investigate the state political scandals in your administration.
Instead of threatening teachers/administrators, why don't you work/cooperate with school officials/teachers and school unions to make our schools better!?! Instead of using threats and manipulation?! Methods that will turn prospective teachers away!
As a matter of fact, on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, The Washington Post printed the following article titled: “Why Cuomo’s school reform plans would make teaching a very high-risk career choice.” (You’ll find it at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/01/30/why-cuomos-school-reform-plans-would-make)
In addition, for more info. on the governor's anti-corruption farce read the following NY Times articles.On July 28, 2014, the NY Times reported that Gov Cuomo dismantled the Moreland Anti corruption Commission, an independent panel of investigators that he created in order to investigate NY State’s political corruption in Albany.
(Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/nyregion/cuomo-defends-his-handling-of-ethics-panel.html)
Again on July 31, 2014. The NY Times reported that the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara and Gov. Andrew Cuomo confrontation has increased, because the of the governor’s dismissal of his own anti-corruption commission in March (which Cuomo created in 2013, after he promised that he would clean up corruption in state politics. The times also reported, “Mr. Cuomo’s office had deeply compromised the panel’s work.”
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/nyregion/us-attorney-warns-cuomo-on-ethics-case-.html
Suggestions to readers of this blog;
I hope that you will do all you can to support our public schools and teachers because what the governor isn't! His behavior toward our schools doesn’t make sense, and it is immoral! Please contact the governor and your state legislator (just type Contact gov. Cuomo, and all your state political leaders names, and email them your comments), and ask for their support. Ask them to vote /approve adequate funding for our public schools and to stop the overwhelming use of testing or our students, stop the threatening and the manipulation of teachers/children for his political gain!!
Other interesting facts:
- Nearly 1 million New York school children (more than 1/3 are African-Americans and Latino) live in poverty.
- 51% of the state's schools are receiving less state aid in the current year than they did in 2008-09.
- Cuomo's proposed, 2015, school aid budget increases 1.1 billion, which is half the amount of what the Regents recommended. And it comes with strings attached (conditions)- the approval of a vicious "reform" agenda that would gut (get rid of) tenure and collective bargaining, double down on high stakes testing and shortchange public higher education.
- NY State's Constitution guarantees a good education to all NY children, and it has a formula to decide on the amount of financial aid (money) each school district should get- depending on the number of students and the poverty level. However, the last 3 governors have neglected these two facts and do whatever they please. In fact, the poorest school districts do not get their fair/due amount! This is illegal!
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