The following article was published by NYTimes.com in the New York Region section on Wednesday, December 8, 2010:
Second Suit Challenges Waiver for Chancellor
By SHARON OTTERMAN
A group of public school parents and advocates, including a member of the Assembly, filed suit in State Supreme Court in Albany on Tuesday to stop Cathleen P. Black from becoming the next city schools chancellor.
The suit, whose plaintiffs include Hakeem Jeffries, an assemblyman from Brooklyn, is the second legal challenge to Ms. Black’s appointment. Last Friday, Eric J. Snyder, a Brooklyn parent and bankruptcy attorney, also sued for her appointment to be annulled.
The new suit argues that David M. Steiner, the state education commissioner, erred in interpreting the law or acted arbitrarily when he decided to grant Ms. Black a waiver that allows her to become the next chancellor without educational credentials.
In a compromise, Dr. Steiner granted the waiver after the city agreed to appoint a senior deputy with strong educational credentials to serve under Ms. Black. But the law, the suit argues, does not allow the commissioner to rely “upon the educational qualifications of the staff the candidate is to supervise” as a substitute for her own qualifications.
The suit also repeats an argument made by Mr. Snyder, stating that while the law allows the commissioner to excuse Ms. Black’s lack of teaching experience and graduate courses in education, she must still have a master’s degree of some sort.
Ms. Black, 66, a successful publishing executive, holds only a bachelor’s degree in English from Trinity University in Washington.
Norman Siegel, the civil rights lawyer who will be the lead counsel in the case, said he expected the court in Albany to consider his and Mr. Snyder’s suit together. Oral arguments in Mr. Snyder’s case are scheduled for Dec. 23.
A spokesman for the state Department of Education, Tom Dunn, said Tuesday that the department had been notified of the suit, but that he would not comment on pending litigation.
Among the plaintiffs are members of a group called the Deny Waiver Coalition, a collection of parent groups critical of how the mayor has managed the city’s 1,600 schools. They include Khem Irby, the former president of the Community Education Council for District 13 in Brooklyn; Lydia Bellahcene and Julie Cavanaugh, members of Community Advocates for Public Education; Mona Davids, the president of the New York Charter Parents Association; and Noah E. Gotbaum, the president of the Community Education Council for District 3 in Manhattan.
Why does this "fake" charter parent association always end up attached to political propaganda? How can a group be called the New York Charter Parents Association if it represents less than 20 charter schools when there are nearly 200 charter schools in NYC? An association by definition includes representatives from all of the organizations within a particular industry or field.
ReplyDeleteHow can a group be called the New York Charter Parents Association if it represents less than 20 charter schools when there are nearly 200 charter schools in NYC? An association by definition includes representatives from all of the organizations within a particular industry or niche.
I object to a group that says they represent my interests as a charter school parent, when they obviously don't. They are a group of parents who has had negative experiences at charter schools. My heart goes out to them.
What about the nearly 5000 parents in Harlem and the South Bronx alone who have had positive experiences at public charter schools. Who is representing us? Does anyone outside of this blog even care about our wonderful stories?
Parents, we need to mobilize. We need a seat at the table, NOW!
Cathie Black is likely here to stay. Doubt Bloomberg is backing down on this one. So, let's put an outline of issues in front of Ms. Black and ask her to develop a strategic plan for saving our failing schools along with recommendation on how to continue to create innovations in the field of public education. There might be a thing or two we can learn from an outsider's perspective. So many people tried to push Klein out and he was one of our best. Now, they don't like his replacement and are condemning her even before she takes office. Maybe it's because she is not indebted to anyone on either side of the debate.
Stay tuned. The revolution will be televised.