Tag: Assembly

State Budget Fallout

Tuesday evening was a night that will live in infamy for public education advocates in New York State.  It was a night that saw the New York State legislature pass legislation that will certainly prove to be more damaging to our state’s public schools than any other legislation passed in our history.

The governor is certainly the chief villain in all of this, but numerous others emerged as well.  Senator Ken Lavalle, for example, is one of many legislators with blood on his hands.  Lavalle, who along with John Flanagan represents portions of the Comsewogue School District, was one of the dozens of legislators who ignored the pleas of his constituents in order to vote for the budget.  For legislators like Lavalle it was a grand betrayal.  One that is abusive to children, will ruin the careers of educators, and strips local control from our communities in order to pass it off to people who have never once stepped foot in Port Jefferson Station.  These legislators surely assume that it was early enough in their new terms to stick a knife in the back of their communities.  “The people will certainly all forget by the fall of 2016!” they are telling themselves.  This is clearly one of the many places they have gone wrong.  Because people won’t forget this.  Voters won’t forget the day their state government overstepped their bounds and forced it’s way into school districts.  Parents won’t forget the day their elected officials responded to calls for less testing by doubling down on high stakes testing.  Teachers won’t forget the day that tenure was obliterated and they were given a mandate to “teach to the test.”  Our brothers and sisters in other labor unions certainly took note as the state eroded due process rights and the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Dozens of these legislators will pay the price in November 2016.  Many of the senators and assemblymen who haven’t yet been arrested for corruption will certainly be voted out by communities.  However that won’t help us in the short run.  Now we are left to pick up the pieces and figure out what direction to go in next.  Parents in our community have already done that as the “Comsewogue Parents in Action” group has not only formed but swelled to over 100 in just two days.  Local teachers unions will begin to configure their next steps while refusing to allow their own children to take the tests.

A few more take aways from this week…

  • One point that can no longer be argued is that Mike Mulgrew is clearly either actively working against his own membership or is the most incompetent labor leader in history.  I am not sure which would be worse.  Mulgrew, who declared the budget a “victory” will be up for re-election next spring.  When he is re-elected an enormous spotlight will shine on the rigged system of “democracy” that governs the UFT, the nation’s largest teachers local.  That can only be a good thing.
  • NYSUT Executive Vice-President Andy Pallotta, whose legislative record impresses nobody, got crushed again.  His failure to prevent this atrocity seriously calls into question the votes of the NYSUT delegates who last year re-elected him, deeming him the only incumbent officer worthy of re-election.  Pallotta, whose only legislative victory this term was securing a double pension for Karen Magee, Martin Messner, and Paul Pecorale (at what was possibly an enormous price) earns a large salary and a healthy number of perks from our membership dues.  The NYSUT officers even helped themselves to a 2% raise last August.  These are things that should stick in the minds of NYSUT delegates when they vote in 2017.
  • A local hero emerged this week.  Several legislators cast their vote against the budget this week.  These are the legislators with a conscience.  The elected officials who will at least be able to sleep at night as this debacle is rolled out over the next few months.  We thank these members of the legislature for standing for their communities, our children, and our profession.  From a local standpoint, Steve Englebright was chief among the supporters.  Not only did Englebright vote against the budget deal, he bucked his party in the process.  While most Assembly Dems were busy sticking a knife in the back of their community, Englebright stood tall for ours.  It was a vote that took courage and conviction and the Comsewogue community is fortunate to have such a devoted public servant as a representative.  We will fondly remember his vote when we head to the polls in November 2016.

I will leave you with an extraordinary video created by one of our students.  Chelsea Smith is a Junior at Comsewogue High School.  As part of her video production class she created a short film called, A Common Voice- Cutting to the Core of What’s Important in Education.  It features appearances by Dr. Rella and several PJSTA members.  Share it widely.  Enjoy…

The Race for the 2nd Assembly Seat

Typically elections for the New York State Legislature are held in even numbered years.  However this year there will be a special vote held for New York State’s 2nd Assembly District on election day.  Former Assemblyman Dan Losquadro stepped down earlier this year to become the Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways, leaving the 2nd Assembly District without representation in the New York State Assembly.  That will change following Election Day when residents of the 2nd Assembly District will vote for either John McManmon or Anthony Palumbo.

Like many of our PJSTA members, I am a resident of the 2nd Assembly District, which begins just to the east of Comsewogue and extends out through the North Fork.  With the current education climate being what it is and knowing the importance of the state legislature’s role in it, I decided to reach out to each of the candidates to see where they stood on education issues.  I made it clear that as a voter my decision of who to vote for would be made based on their stances on education.

Mr. McManmon, who grew up in Riverhead and currently resides in Aquebogue, responded with the following (emphasis mine)…

As you know, implementation of the Common Core in New York has been deeply flawed.  I was profoundly disappointed that Commissioner King cancelled community meetings to discuss this issue and am pleased that some have been rescheduled.  I have asked Commissioner King specifically to hold at least one public meeting on Eastern Long Island.

My concern about the Common Core stems from my belief that our children’s education is essential to their success in a global economy.  To that end, I have called for comprehensive reform of the Common Core in New York State, including (1) reduction in high-stakes testing, which is particularly inappropriate for younger students and their teachers, (2) de-coupling of test scores from teacher, student and school evaluation, (3) limited the data collection and dissemination by private entities and (4) rethinking from the ground-up (not top-down) how best to implement the Common Core, if at all.

Education is very close to my heart.  In my immediate family are public school teachers who face many of the issues you describe below.  In my pro bono legal practice, I represent families of autistic children seeking the best possible education in our school system.

Our children’s education is, quite literally, our future.  In the Assembly, I will be an staunch advocate for education reform and a loud voice for the dedicated parents seeking to provide their children with the skills to succeed in the 21st century.

Mr. Palumbo, who grew up in Patchogue and currently resides in New Suffolk, responded with this…

As your Assemblyman, I will be an unrelenting advocate for our children and our education system. Though we pay among the highest taxes in the state and nation, the majority of state education aid continues to be funneled into New York City. We simply do not receive our fair share. As your Assemblyman I will advocate not only for an increase in education aid for our communities, but for a complete restructuring of the formula by which state aid is calculated.

I also believe more must be done to help school districts, students and parents come to terms with the Common Core curriculum and I think all options should be left open. One proposal put forward in the Assembly is to review the Common Core and evaluate the program’s strengths and weaknesses. I believe this could be a positive step—if it takes into account the input of parents, teachers and administrators. Another proposal put forward would be to opt out of the Common Core curriculum entirely. While there are some merits to this position, that decision ultimately lies with the State Board of Regents.

 In the meantime, I believe the state can be doing more to ease the transition. This program is yet another unfunded mandate by Albany, but I feel that if the state is going to require it, they should pay for it. I will strongly advocate for state government picking up the cost of testing, the cost to implement the program and the cost of training teachers, should the Common Core system continue.

I heard better things from both candidates than I was honestly expecting.  I was particularly impressed with Mr. McManmon’s ideas of reducing standardized tests, de-coupling of test scores from teacher evaluations, and re-thinking “from the ground-up (not top-down) how to implement the Common Core, if at all.”  Of course talk is cheap without action behind it.  I thank both of these gentleman for taking the time out of their busy schedules to answer my concerns regarding public education.  One thing is for certain.  If the winner of this election goes on to make their support of public education a priority throughout their first year in office, they will receive significant support from the PJSTA as they seek re-election next fall.

If you want to find out what assembly district you live in click here.

Thursday’s Assembly Hearing

Via the Suffolk PAC: NYS Assembly Hearing – Testing

Please don’t forget about the forum being held by members of the NYS Assembly on the issues of high stakes testing and common core which will take place in Suffolk county on Thursday, October 10, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Sagtikos Arts and Science Building at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood NY.

We would like to thank all of you who have helped us find speakers for this Thursday’s hearing and have gotten the word out to your members.  If we haven’t heard from you please be sure your local is represented in the audience.  We need to show our legislators that we really care about these issues.