Comments on: What’s important about Shelly Silver’s Joel Klein-phobia

By: Cardinal Richelieu in Albany: Can Shelly Silver “Save” New York City Schools? « Ed In The Apple

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:53:00 +0000

[...] Joel Klein has spent his tenure dissing State legislators , example after example of treating the electeds with disdain. Whether it be closing of schools in their districts, or transparency of funding or programs, announcements are spun out by the communication cadre at Tweed, totally ignored the needs, desires or questions of elected officials. [...]

By: Patrick J. Sullivan

Patrick J. Sullivan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:49:20 +0000

Politics have not been taken out of the system but simply shifted exclusively to the mayoral level. The first and last consideration for any decision maker in the Department of Education is ‘How will this reflect upon the mayor?’. For example, the RAND Corporation was hired to conduct a comprehensive review of 5th grade test-based retention policy. Over 500 pages of reports, surveys and findings were produced but withheld from the public until when? August 2009, after the mayoral control is renewed or terminated.

Or consider another area of policy historically very politicized — school construction. The administration does not comprehensively assess the need for new capacity, then build the projects we can fund, instead they define the need as what can be funded. There cannot be any perception that the mayor is not meeting the needs of public school children.

Or simply look at the 12-14 staff who do press relations. If politics had been removed, then couldn’t the Chancellor speak to the press without having to extensively manage them?

By: peter

peter — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:57:38 +0000

to paraphrase, “You like to be kissed before you are screwed,” Klein seems to take pleasure in totally cutting any elected official out of the process … no consultation, no acknowledgement of their very existence … the public votes for elected officials who are expected to vote for budgets … with absolutely no accountability … the Greeks called it hubris … false pride … a fatal malady.

By: KitchenSink

KitchenSink — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:05:49 +0000

Doesn’t Klein personally respond to every email he gets? Don’t jump on me as the mole, I’m only asking a question! I’ve heard this tidbit and I tried it once and sure enough, he replied within minutes. Perhaps if I was angry, and powerless, he wouldn’t have replied at all – or the reply would have been nonsubstantive and a dead end. I don’t know.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:01:09 +0000

Maybe the legislators, Bloomberg and Klein could figure out how many schools would fit in the new Yankee Stadium.

By: Leonie Haimson

Leonie Haimson — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:51:40 +0000

It’s not just the sorts of questions you mention that Klein refuses to answer. As you quoted AM Audrey Pheffer in the NY Sun, “What kind of politics is he trying to take out of the schools?” she said. “Is it when maybe a politician calls and says, ‘Gee, I’d love this kid in this class.’ Is that what he’s talking about? Or is it when I call and say, ‘Gee, what are you doing with the extra billions of dollars that I gave you?’”

Klein (and Bloomberg) act like petty dictators, as though they can operate without any consultation, and do not have to respond or comply with state mandates, regulations, or the concerns of any stakeholder group. It is no wonder that legislators — as well as every other stakeholder group– are fed up with this administration.

As Gary Babad has pointed out on our parent blog, the real stakeholders of the public school system under Bloomberg/Klein are not parents, nor teachers, nor any elected representatives, but the the Gates and Broad foundations, the business community, and their billionaire buddies.

None of these groups have children in public schools, and none of them have ever been elected. What they do have is deep pockets, which is rather ironic because Bloomberg’s great advantage was supposed to be that he was so rich himself that he was uncorruptible.

Which makes it even more absurd the way in which Klein has teamed up with Al Sharpton to supposedly “represent” the oppressed masses.