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What is truly amazing is how the facts in this case have been ignored. An independent group that serves both charter schools and community public schools outlined a very clear assessment and recommendation of the FACTS; it is unfortunate we live in a bannana republic with a pep that chooses to ignore facts and blindly rubber stamps the mayor and chancellor’s agenda at the expense of our children. What is particularly amazing is the three pep members last night who asked thoughful questions, got bullsh*#% answers and voted yes anyway.
Question 1: Does PAVE have the funds for their building and do they have contract papers, what are the end date on those papers? Answer: they do not have the funds and we don’t have the papers and we don’t know the date. Result: yes vote.
Question 2: Does this EIS really allocate only 4 half rooms for all of the services, especially mandated services; I am concerned about the special education impact repeatedly mentioned. Answer: we are confident there is enough space. Result: yes vote.
Question/comment 3: This report is exactly what we need and what we should be doing for all co-located schools. I can look at this and fully understand the situation. Result: yes vote.
Either the members of our panel do not understand the answers to their own questions, the facts are too confusing, they didn’t know what they were voting on OR they pretended to be interested and ask questions, but regardless of the answers, they were going to vote yes anyway. This is coruption at its finest and what is so sad is these people were appointed to serve the best interest of our children, yet they consistently serve the interests of the mayor, chancellor and business. Our children will suffer as a result of this vote, but all darkness comes to the light. The PS 15 community and affected communities like PS 15 will continue to fight. We will fight for the law to be followed… maybe the problem is the pep, mayor and chancellor and people like Spencer Robertson do not understand the law…. I know, I know, that’s ridiculous, they just think they are above it. Finally, thank you to the reps from BK, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx who do know how to read, do know how to follow the law, do know how to listen and do care about children. At least there are four people who have children’s interest at heart and will fall on the right side of history when this is all over.

How appropriate……Grimm…as in “Grim Reaper”….I sat there as you wielded your scythe…aimed at the children, parents, community, and teachers of PS15K-The Patrick F. Daly School. You should be ashamed of your actions, your words, and your lack of ethics. DID YOU AND YOUR CRONIES EVEN LISTEN TO ANY OF THE COMMENTS? DID ANY OF YOU EVEN READ THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING? OH…SILLY ME…WHAT AM I THINKING? Your decision was made YEARS ago. What a SHAM. What a SHAMEFUL SHAM. It appears that the only hope we have is if the whole lot of you (minus the “FAB 4″….you know…the ETHICAL members of the PEP) are visited tonight by 3 ghosts and wake up changed, redeemed, and human.

Or, we the public, begin to visit the PEP members homes. It is time!!!

The whole process is a sham! The PEP members should not be making these critical decisions, most of them including the Chancellor were appointed by the mayor, why would they vote for anything that he is against. The children and traditional education are not high on anyone’s agenda as there is no money to be made.
Let’s face it, the job of educating so many, many, many black, latino and minority children is too large for business men to handle. Put educating our children where it belongs back in the hands of the truly dedicated professionals, “our educators”. Charter schools belong in their own buildings, not sharing and taking away from Public School Children. Yes, some charter schools are “public schools” the difference is that they are managed by private enterprise, looking to make a fast buck. They are not held to the same high standards, they can toss a child out at a whim. Parents must, must be involved and participate in school events. If a parent cannot, a grandmother, aunt, uncle, etc must step in. The only reason they are being called public school is because they are receiving public monies which is being taken away from traditional public school children. Charter schools need their own space, their own buildings and their own money!
Last night’s PEP meeting was a sham, Eva Moskowitz and her puppets had no reason to be there. If Eva Moskowitz is doing such a fine job, why then does she need public school space? She should be able to come up with the funds and space to run her schools. To Parents: WATCH OUT! Why are charter schools targeting the minority students, poor black and latino students are the only ones attending charter schools. Poor and minority neighborhoods are being targeted for charter schools invasions! Think about it: Is this another form of segretation?
Concerned Citizen

Dear PEP Member who repeatedly referred to the 21st Century Document as “helpful”:

As a teacher I encourage my students to ask for help when they do not understand something. If my students suffer from an inability to comprehend information, either from a book or document, I help them. In my classroom, we interpret all types of data…pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, tallies, etc. We also use given data to create different charts and graphs to make that data more accessible. We then use those graphs to interpret the data and draw reasonable conclusions.

Clearly you have never had any of this training. I am sorry that your primary educators failed to supply you with these tools. I draw this reasonable conclusion because you referenced this document, yet discarded the information inside it. Either you missed 5th grade, or you are a puppet for Joel Klein and Mayor Blooomberg. If the former, feel free to stop by for a few tutorials. If the latter, sleep well at night, knowing you have a stockpile of Bloomklein payoff $ in the bank and understand that karma comes to all and may take many forms, especially when we affect the lives of children.

Visitors from the DOE arrived two days before the public hearing to discuss how they will “assist”dividing up space in P.S. 15. Yes, one week BEFORE the PEP vote and two days BEFORE the public hearing, plans to give away MORE space to PAVE were put into place. Maybe that is why parents and staff of PAVE Academy did not attend the public hearing. Why would they, when Mr. Robertson KNEW he would get his way? He, the Mayor and their rich buddies had this planned out from the beginning!

Mr. Robertson and his team have waxed poetic about their mystery building since July of 2009,refusing to give real details to anyone. Why wouldn’t you have a facility in place BEFORE you open a school? That sounds like poor planning and bad business to me. Such a joke of a school planed & run with dysfunction.

The DOE states the reason for opening another school in Red Hook is to offer “high quality options” to parents in District 15. Hmm, opening a school in an isolated area of Brooklyn that is difficult to get to by public transportation is an option for parents district-wide?
And “high-quality”– maybe they should reconsider after a glance at PAVE’s learning environment survey, which reveals that 50% of the teachers DO NOT trust their new principal, the executive director or the Quality Review that repeatedly uses the term “underdeveloped” to describe how the school functions. Sounds like an experiment gone awry.

Are you putting the pieces together now? PAVE. like all other co-located charter schools are given free space in a public school building to figure out how to run their school (if they can manage that), before they find a place of their own. This is happening at the expense of an existing, successful public school, and it is happening all over the city!

Parents and students deserve high quality public schools in their communities, it’s too bad our Mayor and Chancellor didn’t spend the last eight years making THAT happen!

And now we will have yet another summer where it is only PAVE Academy’s rooms that are renovated and painted while the P.S. 15 community is pushed aside, given what the DOE considered “sufficient” to function. PAVE Academy… run by rich liars… supported by the Mayor!