Here are the essentials on education from Diane Ravitch that are included in the latest deal up in Albany that ends the legislative session:
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the legislative leaders reached a budget deal that included major education issues.
The budget does not include the"education tax credit" for private and religious schools (vouchers), but does include $250 million for religious schools. That should satisfy Mr. Cuomo's friends in the religious communities whom he courted.
The deal includes 180 new charter schools, 50 in New York City and 130 outside the city. That should please the hedge fund managers who gave millions to the Governor's re-election campaign, while providing Eva Moskowitz plenty of room to grow her chain.
The deal extends mayoral control in NYC for only one year, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio's request to make it permanent. That should remind the Mayor who is in charge.
The deal retains the tax cap on school districts. Regardless of their needs, they won't be able to raise property taxes by more than 2% unless they are able to win 60% approval by voters. It may be undemocratic, but it is popular, especially among GOP legislators.
How long until UFT President Michael Mulgrew and/or NYSUT President Karen Magee declare victory since we fought off vouchers?
As for rent regulations, they will continue but there is not much positive to report here either as Gothamist reports:
The title of their piece says it all, "Cuomo to NYC Renters: Drop Dead"
It then states:
New York City loses tens of thousands of affordable apartments each year to deregulation. Under the "framework" of an agreement to extend rent laws announced today (Tuesday) by Governor Cuomo and the two leaders of the state legislature, the city will keep on losing them.
They continue:
Earlier this month, the Assembly passed a bill that would repeal the state's vacancy decontrol law, which allows landlords to jack up the rent on regulated apartments as soon as a tenant leaves and perpetuates a system of inequality.
That change was eliminated.
Instead, the leaders promised to do what they did in 2011: modestly increase the rent at which a rent-regulated apartment could be deregulated, from $2,500 to $2,700.
How are those COPE contributions doing with those politicians up there in Albany?
2 comments:
Mulgrew declared victory at Chalkbeat.org.
"We started this session with the Governor attacking teachers and public education,” Mulgrew said in a statement. “We have ended up with no education tax credit and no raise in the charter cap, with only four charters reassigned to the five boroughs."
Victory is ours as always.
Mulgrew is apparently as out of touch as he was when he reacted to Cuomo's new teacher evaluation as though it were a victory.
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