NEWS OF MASPETH HIGH SCHOOL SLOW FRAUD INVESTIGATION LEADS ME TO ASK WHAT DOES THE UFT GET FOR BEING ON TEAM DE BLASIO?

Sue Edelman has a couple of pieces on Maspeth High School's grade fixing today in the NY Post. One concerns a teacher who resigned rather than play the everybody passes game. The other is primarily an interview with Democratic Councilman Robert Holden who provides an account of how he told Mayor Bill de Blasio about what was occurring at Maspeth HS and then nothing happened.

From the article:
Mayor Bill de Blasio was personally alerted to evidence of grade-fixing and fraud at Maspeth High School in mid-August, but ignored pleas to remove the school’s allegedly crooked leaders before the new school year, The Post has learned.

“It was like I had witnessed a crime,” said City Councilman Robert Holden, who demanded to speak with the mayor after meeting whistle-blowing teachers with documents showing a culture of cheating at the highly rated school.

“I wanted him to put it on the fast track. I wanted him to step into this and get those people out,” the Queens lawmaker told The Post.

But the mayor did not act with urgency, Holden charged, prompting him to go public and to meet with acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan, who has launched an investigation.

It is not at all surprising that de Blasio did nothing.

Further down we learn about Holden's conversation with de Blasio in mid-August about Maspeth HS:

After two weeks, when no investigators had contacted him, Holden emailed de Blasio on Aug. 13, a day after the mayor returned from Iowa for his now-defunct presidential campaign.

The subject line: “Need to talk.”

The mayor called back the following evening. Holden went over the litany of alleged misconduct at Maspeth HS, including grade-fixing, Regents rigging, fake classes to give students credits toward graduation, and intimidation of teachers who didn’t play ball.

“They’re gangsters,” Holden said he told the mayor. “They should not be in there one more day.”

But de Blasio seemed more concerned about Holden, a fellow Democrat, going to the press.

“It’s good that you gave it to me, but if you want to be on my team you have to play like a team member,” Holden quoted him as saying.

The mayor noted that Holden was fortunate to speak with him. “You have your district. I have to run the whole city. I’m the big leagues.” he said, according to Holden.

“I just kept saying, ‘Maspeth High School needs attention,’” Holden said.

Classes started Sept. 5 without any sign of attention. The Maspeth whistleblowers finally asked to meet with a reporter, Holden said.

Chaz exposes yet again how this case shows the Department of Education's double standard where teachers suspected of anything would be immediately removed from their schools but administrators  and their supporters stay in place even with overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing. He is 100% right. There should be equal due process. I am also thinking about another angle of this story.

At the Executive Board, UFT leadership said members should give them the information on suspected fraud so they can deal with it. They deal with it by passing it to DOE and then, except for a few cases, the complaints go nowhere while whistleblowers risk retaliation.

Have you heard much from the UFT on grade fraud in general? I think we all can agree that UFT President Michael Mulgrew is part of de Blasio's team as the UFT doesn't say much negative about the mayor in public or private and Mulgrew even helped to fund raise for the mayor's presidential campaign. Touting the system, as the UFT does, is a very questionable strategy.

Besides less public support for charter schools compared to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and two sub-par contracts, what have we gotten in exchange for Mulgrew kowtowing to de Blasio?