| Releases
& Statements
For Immediate Release
Contact: Frank Sobrino, Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193
Statement
of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum
For City Council Education Hearing
Thank you Chairman Jackson for holding
this important hearing and giving me the opportunity to make a
statement this afternoon.
I agreed with the Mayor when he said
during his State of the City address last week that our schools
have “a long way to go.”
But while he outlined several creative
and aggressive initiatives to address problems in other policy
areas, when it comes to our schools there seems to be an obsession
with what the organization chart should look like.
A few years ago, the old community
school district structure was condemned and scrapped in favor
of regions. Now, though the regional structure is being heralded
a success, we are going back to having community school districts.
I’d like to hear how this will improve teaching and learning
in classrooms.
Since 2002, I’ve watched the
Department of Education implement one sweeping reform after another.
Accountability and transparency leading to improved student achievement
is always the hope. I, for one, have not seen evidence of that
greater accountability or transparency.
For example, in the past five years,
the Department has skirted the competitive bidding process time
and again in awarding some $270 million in no-bid contracts. That
includes the recent $17 million no-bid contract to a so-called
corporate “turnaround” firm.
Because there was no public discussion
or competitive bidding, the firm’s questionable track record
in the area of school reform did not come to light until well
after the contract had been awarded.
And it was right here in this room,
before this very committee, that DOE officials dismissed my bill
calling for the public reporting of a variety of special education
data. The reason given: the data is readily available already.
More than a month later, my request
for the supposedly readily available data has still not been met.
If DOE so casually ignores the request of a citywide elected official,
what chance does the average New Yorker have in dealing with the
bureaucracy? As we’ve heard from many desperate parents
of special education students, not much of a chance at all.
Teacher tenure is now a source of
concern for the Department. Apparently tenure is granted too easily.
Yet decisions about tenure these past five years have been in
the hands of the current administration. If teachers have been
granted tenure too easily, who is accountable?
As I said, I have not seen evidence
of greater transparency and accountability. That might explain
why there are so many questions about whether or not we’ve
seen meaningful gains in student achievement, especially in middle
schools.
Thank you. I look forward to an enlightening
discussion about the plans to improve teaching and learning in
our schools.
###
|
