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This is going to be real productive.

As for charter school corruption, why should charters be any different than the NYC Dept. of Education and its schools? Until October 2009, giving high school kids credits toward graduation through “credit recovery” schemes was illegal because that’s when the Regents passed a regulation legalizing it. As for test score manipulating and cheating on the part of adults, according to a recent Comptroller DiNapoli audit report, doing so is widespread and pervasive throughout New York State. Since the State Ed. Dept. knows all about this, according to DiNapoli’s report, and does nothing about it, why should charter schools’ paid officials and staff be expected to behave any better than their public school colleagues?

Let’s keep in mind that Senator Perkins represents the top of CSD 3 (Upper West Side; Lower Harlem) and CSD 5 (Harlem). CSD 3 has been a failing district since districts could be graded as making, or failing to make, adequate yearly progress. CSD 5 is worse.

This is all really a fight because the charters are cutting down on the slush and patronage available to the pols connected with these school districts. If Perkins really cared about the children, he’d start by asking the Manhattan District Attorney to indict CSD 3 and CSD 5 officials for intentional, gross educational child neglect. I have little doubt that when some deal is cut to give someone in favor the right job, this turmoil will all fade away into the mist.

If Senator Perkins is so concerned about corruption and fiscal irregularities, why doesn’t he post the NYCDOE’s outside regular audit and federal Single Audit on a web site so the world can see what auditors unearthed … this time? Past ones have been bombshells … and buried. And then he could post the sub-audits of a sample of 40 NYCDOE schools done every year, which have shown remarkable (and uncorrected) and very expensive irregularities in the past.

If the Senator is concerned about corruption, he should be concerned about all public education corruption and not just that which no doubt exists in NYC charter schools. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.