SCHOOL CUTS RIGHT FROM MAYOR'S EXECUTIVE BUDGET

We went right to the New York City Mayor's Office page to see the Mayor's Executive Budget released today to see what the actual education cuts will be.

Here are the details:

 Education

• Fair student funding reduction prioritizing schools that already have over 100% (DOE) - $100M in FY21
• Operational savings in training, overtime, and materials at schools, central and field due to school building closures (DOE) - $100M in FY20
• Professional Development reduction (DOE) - $67M in FY21 and outyears
• Cuts to Summer in the City, Single Shepherd, College Access for All (DOE) - $49M in FY21 and outyears
• Delay in 3K Expansion to districts in 1, 12, 14, and 29 (DOE) - $43M in FY21
• Reducing the ATR pool by implementing a non-ATR hiring freeze (DOE) - $40M in FY21 and outyears
• Temporary reduction of School Allocation Memoranda, which provides schools with funding to implement programming (DOE) - $40M in FY21
• Temporary delay of new cohort of freshmen for CUNY ASAP program (CUNY) - $20M in FY21
• Contract and supply reductions associated with arts programming in middle and high schools (DOE) - $15.5M in FY21 and outyears
• Savings from delayed installation of air conditioners (DOE) - $10M in FY21
• Monthly MetroCard underutilization for remaining 2 months of academic year (CUNY) - $6.8M in FY20
• Eliminate District/Charter Partnerships program - $4.4M in FY21 and outyears
• Eliminate supplies and materials used in Civics for All curriculum and programming (DOE) - $3.8M in FY21 and outyears
• Adjustments to SONYC Afterschool budget (DOE) - $5M in FY21 and outyears
• Savings achieved from anticipated low summer enrollment in CUNY Start Math program (CUNY) - $800K in FY20 and $1.6M in FY21
• Scaling down contracts, technology curriculum and health education certification programming for teachers (DOE) - $1.8M in FY21 and outyears

If it is a real hiring freeze, it could actually greatly diminish the Absent Teacher Reserve pool to next to nothing with the only teachers remaining being in obscure licenses where there isn't much need for teachers. 

We'll see if this is just the first wave of cuts. 

Certain cuts are already being implemented at the school level as reported in Chalkbeat NY.

New York City has ordered schools to stop spending money that isn’t related to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that has created confusion among some school leaders and pushback from union officials. 

To be specific:

Schools may still spend money on a host of goods and services even as buildings are shut down, department officials said, including training to provide remote instruction, online materials, or even ordering art supplies to send to students’ homes.

They may also give teachers additional pay to tutor students, offer “Saturday academies” at struggling schools, or manage “mandated” services, such as those for students with disabilities or those learning English. Schools may also continue paying vendors to help students complete college applications or financial aid forms, according to guidance sent to principals.

But other spending that isn’t directly tied to the coronavirus or transition to remote learning is not allowed. That includes teacher training that isn’t related to virtual instruction. Other purchases, such as musical instruments and office supplies, are not allowed either.

The UFT reaction from a Michael Mulgrew statement:

“I don’t think cuts should be made without talking to the stakeholders,” he said in a statement. 

“Of course we don’t want to keep underused or repetitive professional development. But who is making that decision? Right now [the Office of Management and Budget] is making the decision — and they don’t have to deal with the impact,” Mulgrew continued. “Our mission is to protect funding that goes directly into classrooms and schools.”

Give him that seat at the table and he would be happy. 

NO SUGARCOATING THE STATE OF NYC ECONOMY BUT WHERE'S OUR BAILOUT?

The city economy is in freefall.

This is from the Independent Budget Office's latest report released today:

The Covid-19 pandemic and the public health restrictions imposed to help limit the spread of infections have delivered a severe blow to the economy, leading to very large and abrupt job losses that are unprecedented in their scope and pace. Given the staggering job losses, IBO assumes that the U.S. economy has entered a recession, even if not yet captured in the official statistics. As the economy contracts, tax revenues will follow suit, particularly economically sensitive revenue sources such as income and sales taxes.

IBO estimates a $9.7 billion drop in NYC tax revenue and a loss of 475,000 jobs. Plugging this multi-billion dollar budget hole is going to be a real challenge.

For the schools, Chalkbeat NY gives us this information today:

About 80 city schools out of roughly 1,600 receive more than 100% under the formula, according to the most recent city data. It was not immediately clear to what extent other schools would also be asked to make cuts. It is also unclear if the mayor would keep his promise to ensure schools receive at least 90% of what they’re owed. City Hall officials did not immediately answer those questions.

The $100 million cut to fair student funding represents a roughly 1.6% reduction to that funding source. Fair student funding represents the majority of most school budgets.

Some are probably thinking that the federal government needs to bail out NYC as the current economic issues are no fault of the people.

The private sector is getting a generous bailout. For example, the airlines.

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has reached an agreement in principle with major airlines over the terms of a $25 billion bailout to prop up an industry hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Treasury Department said that Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and Southwest Airlines would participate. The program is supposed to help the companies pay their workers and was created as part of the economic stabilization package that Congress passed last month.

I've said before that teachers and others in the New York area should not be bashful now and should be demanding the federal government make our schools and our entire city whole.

SPECIAL COMMISSIONER INVESTIGATING DOE MEMO TO KEEP QUIET ABOUT COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS

Thanks to David Irons for sending out this piece from THE CITY. It is quite scary.

The first few paragraphs:

The Special Commissioner for Investigations for city schools is probing the Department of Education’s bid to squelch coronavirus infection information in the chaotic days before schools were closed.

The investigation comes in response to a report by THE CITY revealing an internal memo advising school officials to not report cases of teachers or staff who tested positive for COVID-19 or were likely infected to the city Health Department.

Following the story, Councilmember Robert Holden (D-Queens) asked Special Commissioner for Investigations Anastasia Coleman to look into the origin of the memo — and whether it contributed to the spread of the virus within schools before Mayor Bill de Blasio reluctantly announced on March 15 that schools would be shuttered.

In an interview Tuesday with THE CITY, Holden said he believes the March 10 memo was intended to help cover up the scope of the spread of the virus within the city public education system to justify keeping schools open amid an avalanche of pressure.

“A lot of teachers were calling us and saying, ‘Why aren’t the schools closed? We have some staff who are infected,’” Holden recalled.

“This is the DOE’s M.O., this is how they operate. They were trying to cover up. They were saying to us, they want to cover this up, we don’t want to cause mass hysteria,” he said.

We know what then happened. Teachers, paras, counselors, safety agents, etc. and students were needlessly infected with COVID-19 as schools were kept open the week of March 9 for everyone and for staff from March 17-19.

We have shown how the UFT admitted they knew that the DOE was not properly applying DOH's closing policy during that week of  March 9. The UFT did not ever tell us to keep out of unsafe school buildings.  The best they would do is threaten a lawsuit. Why are they not under investigation too? A quick glance at the final paragraph of the March 12 THE CITY article says so much about the UFT:

On Thursday a spokesperson for the teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers, did not respond to questions about the union’s position on the DOE’s handling of the virus outbreak.

I can't sleep after reading this.

HEDGE FUNDS TAKING GOVERNMENT MONEY SO UFTers PLEASE DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT EXPECTING WHAT YOU HAVE EARNED

This story in Bloomberg is quite disturbing yet revealing about the United States in 2020

An excerpt:

Free money.

That’s the enticing prospect hedge funds and other trading firms are pondering after realizing they too might be able to participate in a historic U.S. stimulus package to keep small businesses alive through the coronavirus pandemic.

Since early April, law firms have hosted Webinars and sent out alerts, and accounting firms have reached out to clients, all with the goal of explaining how they might be able to tap into the Paycheck Protection Program. The $349 billion package administered by the Small Business Administration provides loans to cover payroll, rent and utilities for up to eight weeks. The loans can convert to grants if recipients retain or rehire their workers.

Some hedge funds already have applied, filling out forms to show they have fewer than 500 employees and certifying the “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations.”

Ironically, hedge funds are designed to employ as few people as possible so star traders don’t have to share millions of dollars in fees. The industry gets its name from the premise it can generate gains even when markets fall.

The question of whether to partake in the program is dividing members of the money management community. Some traders have called it morally corrupt, while others insist they are small businesses -- just like hair salons, restaurants and dry cleaners -- that could use a helping hand after global markets tumbled and cost them money. Given that the program is first come, first served, some managers were quick to submit their paperwork, according to market participants, even if eligibility remains unclear.

As we move ahead when governments and probably union leaders try to guilt teachers by saying that they are lucky to be alive and have a job, please don't feel any remorse about expecting to be made whole financially after the pandemic abates. The big guys aren't feeling any shame and neither should you.

UFT members have already worked seven extra days in exchange for four days in sick banks by giving back spring break. That is not a very good trade. Also, the grievance process has been suspended so administrators can do what they like and the only recourse is to try to work it out. I could never understand why people just accept whatever status quo there is. Teachers should not accept things as they are.

My advice as usual: Grow a spine!

50 DOE DEATHS FROM CORONAVIRUS

The Department of Education finally announced the death toll from COVID-19.

This is from NY 1's education reporter Jillian Jorgensen on Twitter:

Very sad news: 50 NYC Department of Education employees have died of the coronavirus, as reported to DOE by their family members.

22 are paraprofessionals. 21 are teachers. 2 are administrators. 1 is a facilities staffer, 1 a guidance counselor, 1 a school service staffer. 2 are central office employees. 1 was also working in a Regional Enrichment Center.

These figures are as of April 10. The DOE will now release these figures weekly, after several weeks of saying compiling the information was more difficult than in the city's uniformed services.

They aren't even counting the 5 School Safety Agents who passed but will be tallied with the NYPD numbers. Safety Agents work in schools.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families and school communities who have lost loved ones.

How many of the 50 died because schools were not closed early enough in March or because DOE didn't follow Department of Health guidelines when COVID-19 was present in school buildings?

How many  would not have caught the virus if staff members were not told to report for work in buildings on March 17,18 and 19?

How many died because Michael Mulgrew did not have the spine to tell UFT members in no uncertain terms to stay out of what the UFT knew were unsafe schools?

Right now, I feel sad and angry. The politicians and union leadership failed us. I am a little blogger. Only the mass of union members can hold our leaders accountable.

CITY & MTA WORKER COVID-19 FATALITIES GROW

As the death toll from COVID-19 in NYC continues to mount, we see city and MTA workers taking hits. The NY Post did a count by city agency and the MTA which is run by the state.

The coronavirus is ravaging the city’s public workforce, killing more than 100 civil servants — many who did not have the luxury of working from home.

Those toiling at the MTA have suffered the greatest toll, with 50 dead from COVID-19 including supervisors, bus drivers, train conductors and cleaners.

As for the Department of Education where we were given the luxury of working home too late:

The virus has struck down dozens of teachers, paraprofessionals and other school workers.

While the Department of Education continues to refuse to release a count of dead or infected employees, the teachers’ union says more than 40 members have perished. At least one principal, Dez-Ann Romain, and one assistant principal, Omara Flores, have died.

“I am imploring the mayor to make this information public immediately,” said City Councilman Mark Treyger, education committee chairman. Treyger has requested a bill to require the DOE to report its COVID-19 cases.

Mayor de Blasio has failed to track illnesses and hidden the DOE data to avoid responsibility for delaying the closure of city schools, Treyger said. “His policies helped advance widespread community transmission.”

Sharon Nearby, 52, a 6th-grade English teacher at IS 24 in Staten Island, died April 4 after a week in Staten Island University Hospital, spending her last days on a ventilator. Her husband and twin 14-year-old daughters could not be at her side.

Nearby spent most of her 30-year DOE career at the South Shore school, where she held high expectations for students, her husband Jeff said. “She was very loved. She was consistent and honest. And she made classes as fun as she could.”


Jeff Nearby believes Sharon contracted the virus on March 12 or 13, when teachers citywide conducted parent conferences remotely amid the outbreak. But teachers came in and worked together in the rooms making the calls. Sharon later learned a teacher in her room had tested positive.

Now to the police:

New York’s Finest have lost 19 members, the latest Detective Jack V. Polimeni, a 23-year NYPD veteran assigned to the warrant squad. He was the third officer to die. The NYPD also lost 16 civilian employees. That includes five school safety agents, said Gregory Floyd, president of the Teamsters Local 237, their union.

Floyd faulted de Blasio for his late decision to close schools, and keeping them open for staff training and for kids to pick up supplies through March 19.

“We’re not going to blame him for people getting sick, but we’re going to blame him for his response,” Floyd said.

Floyd's response is about as lame as UFT President Mulgrew's. The UFT boss was threatening lawsuits amidst the pandemic instead of telling members to stay out of unsafe buildings. Even supposedly militant TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano hasn't threatened to pull his members out of the dangerous subways.

Where are the strong unions we need?

The mostly non-union workers nationwide have been more militant with wildcat strikes unless I am missing something and the high absentee rates among some government agencies reflect more than just people who are really sick. There might be some actions that are occurring that we don't know about as they are being done behind the scenes.

For those who want to see the tragic numbers by agency, the Post has listed them and we copied them below. Our condolences go out to all of the families behind these numbers. Each number represents actual human beings.

• MTA: 50

• DOE: 40-plus teachers, 1 principal, 1 assistant principal

• NYPD:  19 including three officers, five school safety agents

• Corrections: 10

• Human Resources Administration: 5

• Health & Hospitals: 4

• Administration for Children’s Services: 4

• Parks: 3

• FDNY: 3

• Sanitation: 1

• Transportation: 1

• Administrative Services: 1

• Buildings: 1

• NYCHA: No response

CUOMO TALKING ABOUT SCHOOLS IN SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

I am watching the Governor's Sunday press conference.

Governor Cuomo was asked about reopening the schools. The Governor said there should be a coordinated approach in the region (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) for a plan to reopen the schools. He stated that we are not sure about the month of June and that any decision to reopen the schools would be based on science. He added that the best scientific experts have told him they don't know where we will be in terms of the pandemic in June; it's too early to tell. He pointed out that we are trying to take a regional approach. That is the optimal plan.

Cuomo emphasized that businesses can't reopen without the schools being opened because schools provide education as well as childcare. He added that he understands Mayor de Blasio's position on the topic of wanting the schools closed through June but Cuomo wants to take a regional approach to reopening them and the Governor has the final word on the issue.

The curve on COVID-9 does seem to be flattening according to Cuomo but over 9,000 have died.



Happy Easter.

Update

I missed Mayor de Blasio's presser this morning. He is backing down a bit. Here is the report from City and State:

De Blasio dodged questions during a Sunday morning press conference about whether he has the authority to decide that New York City schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. DeBlasio announced on Saturday morning that schools would remain closed, but Cuomo, in his own press briefing just after, denied that de Blasio could make that decision on his own, and said that a regional approach would be taken to decide when schools would reopen. Asked multiple times by reporters at his Sunday morning briefing, de Blasio did not address who had the legal authority to make that decision, instead saying that he wanted to focus on the “moral” choice and that the right thing to do is to close schools for the rest of the year. After his press conference finished, however, NY1’s Zack Fink tweeted a statement from a de Blasio administration official suggesting that the mayor does have the authority to close schools. 

ARE YOU READY FOR OPERATION GRADUATION?

Standards in NYC schools have been lacking for years in many schools according to so many readers here and press reports. Well, now having virtually no standards is about to become policy and it is somewhat understandable during a pandemic but still, some of this is rather troubling.

From Sue Edelman in the NY Post:

They call it “Operation Graduation:” NYC educrats thinking up creative ways to graduate as many high school seniors as possible in a school year fractured by the coronavirus crisis.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday he will shutter all school buildings through June, a decision immediately challenged by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who insists he makes such decisions under a state of emergency.

But Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has already begun rallying his troops to salvage the graduation rate, which was 77.3 percent through August last year, and to pass younger students on to the next grade.

“We’re going to have to make big decisions in the upcoming weeks regarding promotions and graduations,” Carranza told a webinar for Brooklyn principals last week, one note-taking attendee told The Post. “We need to start to think how are we going to justify promotions and graduations.”

“Never waste a good crisis,” the chancellor told the school leaders.

“We need to rethink the way we grade students. Maybe we should grade them on a pass/fail basis, whether they master the material or not, instead of with traditional grades.”

Carranza kept repeating this mantra: “Flexibility and patience.”

A Bronx elementary school teacher said the writing is on the wall: “We’re under the impression that we’re passing everyone if schools are going to be closed for the rest of the year.”

That means letting some students — those who don’t log on for remote instruction, don’t pay attention or don’t do the work — off the hook, teachers told The Post.

The city Department of Education has Fed-exed about 70,000 iPads to students, leaving some  200,000 kids still lacking devices and/or Wifi, spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said Saturday. The DOE aims to deliver the rest “by the end of the month,” she said.

With many students still without online access, others playing online hooky, state standardized exams canceled and the Regents exams waived, the pass rates are likely to soar.

High school administrators have begun citing “Operation Graduation” in emails to colleagues.

The rules are loose at some schools. If a student and his or her parent cannot be reached online or by phone, the kid gets a pass, a Brooklyn high-school teacher said staff was told.

“There’s no justification to fail the student if you haven’t done successful outreach to the parent. The kids and their parents just have to not answer the phone and, voila, they pass,” the teacher said.


“We are getting reports of groups of our most troubled kids hanging out in the streets, drinking, smoking weed, fighting. But these kids are going on the ‘Operation Graduation’ lists.”

There's more but you get the picture. How can we possibly be fair here? There are great kids that are trying and there are truly needy students who are undergoing tragedies at home and school could not possibly be a priority. However, there are others are taking advantage of the situatipon and are doing nothing.

MAYOR ANNOUNCES SCHOOL BUILDINGS CLOSED FOR REMAINDER OF SCHOOL YEAR BUT CUOMO CONTRADICTS DE BLASIO

UPDATED
I just tuned into Governor Andrew Cuomo's presser. He is contradicting Mayor Bill de Blasio on schools. He says Mayor is giving his opinion on schools closing and that it is premature. He says there has been no decision on schools. Cuomo claims legal authority on schools. Wants it to be regional decision.

Press coverage with reactions is here.

Earlier, I listened to the Mayor say the schools will be closed in NYC for the rest of the school year and that remote learning will continue. Here are my notes on what de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza said.

I am monitoring Mayor Bill de Blasio's press conference. He announced that the schools in NYC will be closed for the remainder of this school year. He claimed distance learning has been successful. Distance learning will continue. More devices will go out to the kids.

They plan to reopen schools in September.

Chancellor Richard Carranza spoke after the Mayor. Carranza emphasized flexibility and patience.

Chalkbeat asked about extending next school year. De Blasio responded by talking about challenges for next year. Chancellor said they are looking to labor partners. Everything is on the table. Need to make mental health a priority.

Question about parents taking on teaching kids. Chancellor answers parents are not alone. There is a lot of creativity going on.

Question about summer school. De Blasio replied that we don't know what the summer will bring. We have to get out of this phase of the pandemic. We don't want a resurgence of the virus. Chancellor said there is optimism and realism.  Optimistic view to have buildings open for summer. Realistic view is schools will be remotely open in summer. Working on making sure District 75 students have their needs met.

Question about Regents. Carranza says June Regents exams already canceled.  We don't know about August. (Link to modified graduation requirements)

Question about reporting student attendance.  De Blasio says it is a challenge but with every week, we are getting better. Chancellor says there is a once a day attendance policy. He adds we are trying to get to students who have not reported at all. He tells families to get in touch with DOE about devices. Mailed out learning packets to those who have no internet and sent out 245,000 devices. All will have one by end of April.

De Blasio says he is very worried about food situation. Katherine Garcia is food czar. Over 400 school sites serving grab and go breakfast, lunch and dinners.

Carranza emphasizes flexibility in grading. Wants students to engage in learning. Social-emotional learning is important. Grading is happening but not the same as under usual circumstances.

UFT response to closing? What is DOE doing for families? Mayor says Bronx plan gets some of the best teachers up there before pandemic. We have counselors. We had long conversations with health people and Dr Fauci last night before deciding to close. Carranza says he has multiple daily conversations with labor leaders who were supportive of decision to close.

Is June 26 still last day? Carranza says teaching and learning still happening. No change on end of school year based on waivers we received from state.

UFT COVID-19 DEATH TOLL RISES; NORM SCOTT SEES RETURN OF 1975 FISCAL CRISIS CONDITIONS; RETIRED CHAPTER LEADER COMMENTS ON UFT NOT TELLING US TO STAY OUT OF UNSAFE SCHOOLS

From Chalkbeat NY:

Rosario Gonzalez, a 91-year-old paraprofessional who cared tenderly for children in an East Harlem special education program, rarely missed a day of work in more than three decades. 

Claudia Shirley continued to teach in Bushwick even after retiring, and loved her job so much that she inspired her two daughters to become educators themselves.

Carol King-Grant, a special education teacher in the South Bronx, was known for her love of sudoku and beautiful singing voice. 

All died in recent weeks from suspected cases of the coronavirus, according to the United Federation of Teachers. The union announced that, as of Friday, it knew of more than 40 of its members presumed to have been claimed by the pandemic, including both active educators and retirees.

The union is naming names, and releasing a tally of the lives lost at a time that the education department has refused to do so. The department’s silence has sparked an uproar among teachers, who feel the lack of recognition is a smack in the face, particularly as they continued to report for work even after the danger of COVID-19 was well known.    

Thoughts and prayers to all of those who have passed, are sick or are working to stop the pandemic.

Norm over at EdNotes sees very gloomy days ahead during the state of emergency. He is predicting a return to a 1975 style fiscal crisis situation with massive layoffs not based on seniority when schools reopen.

When I see complaints from teachers about the DOE, the UFT, the loss of spring break, etc. I find them almost funny due to how shortsighted they are given the potential likelihood of a massive financial crisis to come that will affect and infect the school system, the most likely place to take the biggest hit because it has the biggest budget and therefore the most places to cut - except for the administrators and bureaucracy, of course.

The current home-learning situation will result in a learning experience for all - but especially the politicians who see a solution to the budget by continuing versions of stay at home schooling where feasible. Of course the role the schools play in babysitting and feeding cannot be ignored, but I believe the idea will be there for use. Imagine closed schools and how many people can be laid off? But let's say all schools remain open.

No taxes coming in and enormous expenses for city and state government: deep cuts are inevitable 
So how can they cut deeply and still maintain a system? Just tax the rich I hear some people say -- that will solve the problem. Here's what we know - that will never happen -- look 

And what about UFT contracts? Someone commented recently - don't we have a contract preventing layoffs - a LOL moment.

Once they declare an emergency, contracts don't count.


So let's talk about what happened in 1975 when our contract was shredded when the financial crisis was declared and the finances taken over by some consortium -- Felix Rohatyn (who died not long ago and was proclaimed a hero - not to us - became the czar.)

Norm then reviews the events of 75. I don't necessarily agree with Norm's forecast but it is worth looking at in detail as he then describes the history of the UFT's last strike that year which failed. I believe had the unions come together in a general strike, it would have been successful and that a general strike could succeed today to prevent the elites from robbing us blind. The little points matter so when we concede spring break so easily while businesses and local governments are getting bailed out left and right by the Federal Reserve's printing press, it matters. We can't just sit around and wait to be pounced on.

Something I cannot comprehend is why there isn't more anger directed at the UFT and Michael Mulgrewfor not telling us to stay out of schools in mid March. Had we all stayed home it might have helped to slow the spread of COVID-19. Mulgrew threatened a useless lawsuit, discouraged teachers from calling out sick and then when the kids finally didn't have to go to school any longer, he did nothing to stop staff from reporting for three days from March 17-19. Today I saw a very enlightening comment from M. Haber, who commented on our UFT Knew Buildings were Unsafe the Week Before Schools Closed. Haber was a Chapter Leader in Brooklyn after a hurricane. Read what he says because it offers lessons that need to be learned quickly.

Martin H. said...
What you exposed about Mulgrew and the UFT is damning, James. Its what Eugene V. Debs called "Profit Over People". But the fact that it is our union doing it makes it even more horrible to me. 

I remember when the last Hurricane came through NYC, & my principal- taking her marching orders from DOE HQ- wanted us inside the Coney Island building way before it was deemed safe to return- there was a gaseous smell that was nauseating, and for me obviously dangerous. I was the UFT Chapter Chair at that moment (not for long after!), and I stood outside that morning trying to stop my colleagues from entering. Some did, but most brushed me aside. That is what fear of authority does.
I was proven correct when the "investigators" checked out the building's levels, it was toxic in parts of the building. We did eventually gather in neighboring sites! 

I offer this anecdote as an analogy to what the Union is doing with Coronavirus knowledge- they only care about the dues, and the status quo. And being a retiree myself now, I am disgusted by the power that this "captive audience" gives to Unity. Why retirees have the vote at all in our union has always been beyond me except that Unity "buys" the retirees off with the so-called pensions/extras/attention- its pure propaganda.

I totally agree with the comment. I see it as a cautionary tale as well as a political statement. A decision in the next few days is coming from the Mayor on shutting NYC school down for the rest of the school year or maybe reopening schools before the end of the school year. Distance learning has not exactly been a success.

If schools resume sometime later this spring or even if schools are not reopened until the fall, UFT members need to know buildings are safe before they go back in. There has to be a policy in place so UFT members can be confident before entering schools. What if there is a second wave of COVID-19? How can anyone in their right mind trust Mulgrew and company to make snap decisions on whether a school is safe or unsafe and whether UFT members should enter? They proved to be ineffective in March with the best they could do is to bluster about a lawsuit if schools remained open. How many people would have come down sick before that lawsuit was decided? How many were sickened because they went to work?

SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS; WORKERS FIGHTING BACK; 30 UFT COVID-19 DEATHS; MULGREW'S HOLIDAY EMAIL

I understand readers saying that giving up spring break is no big deal in the midst of a pandemic. However, I think everyone needs to review Naomi Klein's, The Shock Doctrine.  We have to be very careful that we aren't robbed while we are too preoccupied with surviving to notice we are being fleeced.

A summary from Wikipedia:
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by the Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein. In the book, Klein argues that neoliberal free market policies (as advocated by the economist Milton Friedman) have risen to prominence in some developed countries because of a deliberate strategy of "shock therapy". This centers on the exploitation of national crises (disasters or upheavals) to establish controversial and questionable policies, while citizens are excessively distracted (emotionally and physically) to engage and develop an adequate response, and resist effectively.

We certainly aren't looking too closely now as the school budgets have already been slashed for next school year.

From silive.com:

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is getting hit with $264 million in budget cuts due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, city officials have announced.

The cuts to the DOE are part of a $1.3 billion program to reduce spending. Budget cuts were also made across other areas -- including public safety, transportation, sanitation, health and social services.

The biggest cut taking effect next fiscal year is $100 million from the Fair Student Funding formula.

Further down:

The DOE said it is working closely with the city Office of Management and Budget to ensure savings for Fair Student Funding is done equitably and with minimal impact to a school’s day-to-day functions. However, the agency said it expects schools to see changes in their budget.

This is just the beginning. The economy is not going anywhere. Only a federal bailout of states and cities will help. I have no clue if it's coming.

For anyone looking for positive news, some working people in this crisis refuse to just do as they are told.

This is from PayDay Report:

So far, we’ve identified over 35 wildcat strikes that happened in the last month alone. (Several larger strikes like at Instacart and Whole Foods happened in multiple cities).

We suspect many strikes aren’t reporting at all for a variety of reasons and that the numbers are higher than we can track. 

There are lack of reporters on the labor beat and many workers don’t know how to contact reporters at all.

In other instances, we have heard of plant managers shutting down workplaces after a large number of workers simply called in sick. In other facilities, some workers have walked off the job; only to return shortly after bosses make promises to improve things. 

For these reasons, we believe that the number of strikes occurring are vastly underrepresented.

Don't expect union leaders to guide you. Working people are thinking and acting on their own behalf. That is good news. I have a feeling that the number of people calling in sick in certain jobs might not all be due to them having COVID-19.

UFT Coronavirus Deaths

When we take into account that UFT members are not working in school buildings presently, theoretically one would think there would be a low number of UFT fatalities if UFTers are following guidelines on social distancing and staying home. I don't know if this is a low or high number because there are so many who work for the DOE but the NY Post  is reporting on UFT fatalities.

 This was written by Selim Algar:

More than 30 members of the United Federation of Teachers — including retired staff — have been reported by family members to have died from coronavirus, a union source said.

Shellshocked kin have been contacting the organization to alert officials to the cases in increasing numbers, the source said.

While he did not specify that they died from COVID-19, UFT president Michael Mulgrew read out the names of 26 recently deceased members at a somber meeting of the union’s executive board Monday.

At least five additional coronavirus-linked deaths have been added to the UFT’s grim tally in just two days since that meeting, the union source said. The union’s membership includes both teachers and other staff.

Teachers have ripped the Department of Education for not providing a public inventory of their fallen colleagues.

Selim later cites that union source to say a small number of the deaths were from retirees but most were active workers.

This is tragic. It appears that Reality-Based Educator, Bronx ATR, EdNotes once, and yours truly are the only ones holding the UFT accountable in any way for what has occurred. I strongly believe the Union had an obligation to tell its members in no uncertain terms to leave infected school buildings but the UFT was more interested in not violating the Taylor's Law's prohibition against strikes by public employees in NYS than protecting member lives. The UFT would lose automatic dues checkoff if we were to strike. In the end, the Union was shown as incredibly weak.

There is no need to worry, however, because President Michael Mulgrew sent us an uplifting holiday greeting. I too hope you enjoy your holiday, even if you choose to work instead of spending all of the time with family tomorrow and Friday as this blog proposed.

Dear James,

As we continue to grapple with this crisis, I want to take a moment to wish a happy Passover and happy Easter to those of you who will be celebrating.

I know that for most of us, the holidays will look different this year. We may be videoconferencing with our families instead of gathering with them in person. We may be streaming our Seders and church services rather than visiting our houses of worship. But I hope that the spirit of your celebrations remains the same. 

This evening, many will sit down for the first Passover Seder. It’s tradition to end a Seder with the farewell, “Next year in Jerusalem!” Just as Easter represents a time of rebirth for many of us, I look forward next year to the renewal of in-person celebrations with our families, friends and faith-based communities.

Until then, I hope that your holiday traditions bring you comfort in this difficult time. I have faith that we will get through this crisis together. 

Stay safe and healthy. 

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew
UFT President

FIND RELIGION AND/OR REFLECTION BY NOT LOGGING INTO ONLINE SCHOOL THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

The UFT is so weak it can't even keep those two very important religious days Thursday and Friday (first two days of Passover-Holy Thursday-Good Friday) as days off. Teachers and parents don't have to sit around and just take it.

There is an easy symbolic action that everyone should take by just taking Thursday and Friday off. NYC Department of Education employees have been given four extra Cumulative Absence Reserve days (sick bank days) that can be used as Personal Business Religious Observance days without loss of pay. As for parents, I doubt our kids will be penalized for taking the two days. My kids won't be logging on unless they sneak their way on.

Don't expect the UFT to sanction or even encourage this as a concerted action because the Union is primarily worried about their almighty dues being taken away because of the Taylor Law's prohibition against strikes by public employees in NYS. The Union will not risk their dues to make a statement. They showed in this crisis that they would put member health in danger to protect their money coming in.

However, rank and file UFTers have been given a valid excuse not to log on Thursday or Friday. These are holy days. Here is what my friend Luli Rodriguez, a high school teacher, said on Facebook:

I respect religious observances, but this epidemic has made it clear that it’s time for God.

I won’t be teaching 4/9 and 4/10. I just notified my administrator. I’d rather lead by example, show humanity and mindfulness.

Let’s pray for our families and our world. Put religious differences aside and collectively send healing to all that suffer— families, patients, ALL first responders (store/warehouse workers, delivery personnel, drivers, Military, EMTs, Fire, Police, therapists, Nurses, Doctors, etc).

Luli who is no stranger to a good fight used her own name. Did you see that anonymous commenters?

Don't log into a DOE site Thursday or Friday. Don't log in at all.

UFT members should not feel guilty about being completely pissed off for giving back Holy Thursday, Good Friday-first two days of Passover because most of us happen to be lucky enough to still be healthy and have a job.

Please do not let anyone compare teachers to first responders who we thank God are risking their lives in this emergency but they are also being compensated for their heroic efforts. Don't accept Mulgrew's empty proe of future negotiations for compensation.

Instead, compare teachers to our peer group which is the teachers in surrounding areas. In neighboring New Jersey, they are not subject to Cuomo's order to keep schools open for online learning. Some NJ districts are moving days off around but none that I could find are just flat out canceling their breaks. For example, Woodbridge is trading three days off now for an earlier end to the school year in June. Even that compromise seems to be the exception.

From NJ.com:
“I am certainly not seeing it across the board,” said Betsy Ginsburg, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, a group of about 100 districts. “I think many, many superintendents feel as if everyone needs a little bit of a break from being a parent/employee/school teacher."

No district in the Garden State is working seven additional days in April in exchange for four new Cumulative Absence Reserve (sick bank) days like NYC is doing.

Every teacher in NYS can make a statement that school staff isn't going to take any more nonsense from Albany and City Hall by calling up or emailing saying you will not be working on Thursday or Friday. The atheists and agnostics should come along too and use the time for reflection or meditation as you see fit. Don't tell me how you will post an assignment in the morning and then not do much else. Make a statement. Don't log in at all.

Don't log in and let's not send our own kids to a DOE computer on these two days. All of the working city educators can legitimately utilize two of those four extra sick bank days for religious observance with pay. (It's personal business; you don't have to pay for a substitute if you use personal business days for RO.)

UNION COUNTS 26 UFT MEMBERS WHO HAVE PASSED FROM COVID-19

NYC Educator's report on tonight's virtual Executive Board meeting is quite disturbing.

From his minutes of President Mulgrew's report:

We believe 26 UFT members have died of COVID, but sadly that number will not stay the same.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families who lost someone.

Of course, none of our representatives on the Board asked any of the very tough questions:

1-How many of those 26 worked in DOE schools? Retirees and hospital nurse deaths are a tragedy but there is nothing that the UFT could have done as far as I can tell to prevent any of these horrible deaths. 

2-How many of those 26 worked in schools on March 17, 18 or 19 when the UFT refused to protect their members by telling them in no uncertain terms to stay out of schools that at this time were giant petri-dishes? UFTers were doing professional development that week that could have been done from home.

3- How many of those 26 worked the week of March 9 in schools where the UFT admitted they knew there were COVID-19 cases but didn't tell members to leave unsafe buildings?

To be fair, I'm not sure I could have asked these difficult questions tonight. That said, I doubt the UFT's Executive Board that has zero opposition will ever ask these or any tough questions and they need to be asked. That is why democracies need opposition. The UFT Executive Board will hold responsible who Mulgrew tells them to.

The UFT in my view is as responsible as Cuomo, de Blah Blah or the DOE for anyone who caught the virus in schools in March after the UFT was aware there was COVID-19 in schools and refused to tell members  forcefully to stay out.

There is a gofundme for Kimarle Nguyen, one of our colleagues who has died. Condolences to the Nguyen family and her school community.

REGENTS EXAMS CANCELED; WHY IS CUOMO SO POPULAR?

Regents exams are out for this June. Update will come tomorrow on graduation requirements. We also need news on ratings.

Speaking of the state, I cannot comprehend why Andrew Cuomo is suddenly so popular. Does blustering equate to competence and success? Cuomo dithered and delayed at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis just like Mayor de Blah Blah (my words) and President Trump. Look at the issue of closing the schools. Both Cuomo and the Mayor were on the same page to keep them open even after the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11 and we were right in the middle of it.

Jonathan Halabi has a good piece on whether Cuomo or de Blasio should be blamed for schools being open online for Thursday or Friday on religious holidays. The UFT will only aim rhetorical fire at the weak and unpopular mayor. Typical UFT.

If you want decisive leadership in the midst of this crisis, go west and look up Governor Jay Inslee in Washington. 

From The Week:

 To begin with, the numbers don't lie. New York state has thus far had the worst outbreak not just of any state, but of any place in the world. Its deaths have risen faster than any other sub-national region at an equivalent point in their outbreaks, even Lombardy, Italy and Madrid, Spain.

Many have pointed to the density of New York City, with its heavy reliance on public transportation and many international travelers, as one reason its outbreak spread so fast. But while it is surely easier for a virus to spread in such a place, this fails to explain why Hong Kong and Singapore, which are both comparably dense and internationally connected, and also much closer to the initial coronavirus outbreak, have not seen shattering numbers of cases.

Pandemic control measures work in dense cities just as they do in rural areas (which are not remotely immune to viral epidemics), and Cuomo was inexcusably lax in setting them up. New York had its first confirmed case on March 1, and its second on March 3, a "super-spreader" event who was linked to 28 more cases by March 6. But on that same day, Cuomo was still reminding people that more people were in the hospital from the flu than COVID-19. The state transit authority (which Cuomo controls) also informed its employees they would not be issued protective gear, and forbade them from wearing their own. On March 8, he said shutting down public transit was unnecessary. He did not start even moderate lockdown measures until March 12.

To be fair, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was also incredibly irresponsible about this. He also downplayed the virus' severity, dragged his feet on lockdown measures, and was still going to the gym on March 16. But that, in turn, points to the horrible relationship between the governor and the mayor, which is about three-quarters Cuomo's fault. De Blasio is an incompetent nincompoop, but Cuomo is a vicious political backstabber who seems to take great personal delight in needling de Blasio, starting pissing matches with him, and obstructing his agenda out of pure spite. Now, when a working relationship between the two most important authorities in New York could not be more important, that childish pique is taking its toll.

Now that the outbreak is extremely bad, New York's hospitals are being overwhelmed. Few are more responsible for this than Cuomo, who has relentlessly hacked away at his state's hospital capacity during his terms as governor. He pushed through repeated cuts to the state's funding of Medicaid and vetoed a funding increase, which helped bankrupt several hospitals that served New York's poorest residents. Several of them were subsequently turned into luxury housing developments, which was probably half the point. In sum, the state has lost about 20,000 hospital beds since 2000 — a trend that predated Cuomo but kept going under his watch. Even today Cuomo is still trying to push further Medicaid cuts, as hospitals face a completely unprecedented onslaught of work and costs.

Yet for the last few weeks, Cuomo has been holding daily televised updates about the progress of the outbreak in New York. His clear warnings about the dangers of mass death, and the obvious contrast between him and President Trump's daily buffoonery, have made these briefings ripe for media pickup and must-watch viewing for many Americans who are desperate for information. But no amount of showmanship now will make up for the early delays that set New York on its current trajectory.

Returning to the above chart (see link), Washington state, despite being the site of the earliest cluster of confirmed cases in the U.S., has contained its outbreak better than any state, and many other sub-national regions as well. This simply must be because Governor Inslee started testing earlier, implemented clampdown measures earlier, and tightened them earlier. By late February it was clear that Washington would suffer a serious outbreak, and Inslee declared a state of emergency on the same day, Feb. 29, that the state recorded its first COVID-19 death. Working closely with Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Inslee first strongly encouraged people to avoid groups and stay at home, then started requiring them to do so in early March. The state set up a command center to coordinate the overall response and direct resources to where they were most needed, and Inslee began regular briefings to inform the public about what was going on.

A month later, Washington has less than a tenth as many cases as New York, and its hospitals have so far been strained but not overwhelmed. It easily could have been just as bad — Washington is only somewhat smaller than Lombardy, where the devastating Italian outbreak has been centered. As we have learned over and over and over, quick action is absolutely vital when it comes to containing the coronavirus.

TRIBUTE TO ICER DAVID DOBOSZ IN BROOKLYN COMMUNITY PAPER

ICE-UFT lost one of its strongest people when David Dobosz passed away last month. I have only fond memories of working with David who was a truly outstanding union activist. Prayers go out to Pat and the rest of the family.

From Greenline:

David Dobosz Made our Community a Better Place

by Lori Ann Doyon

On March 13, 2020 we lost a shining neighbor. David Dobosz was a teacher, church elder, and community activist for education, the environment, affordable housing, and a champion of the community’s diversity.

David was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 3, 1940. He moved to New York City after graduate school and began a several decades-long career in education. He taught at Martin Luther High School, the Freedom School at St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church, P.S. 150, P.S. 145, and finally the UFT Teacher Center. He retired from the Department of Education in October 2009.
After retirement and raising his three daughters, David had more time to dedicate to community action. In a previous Greenline interview David

said, “It was a gradual involvement. With kids and teaching there was not enough time.” Although while he was active in his career and helping to raise his family he had made time to regularly attended community and school board meetings.  With more free time he finally had the chance to make a positive difference to counter the changes he’d been witnessing, “Seeing the negative effects on our family and the families of others”. He joined the front lines with his wife Patricia in the fight for more affordable housing and expanding education opportunities to those who are underserved in the community. He became a board member of St. Nicks Alliance and Martin Luther High School, and was a longstanding member of GREC, OUTRAGE, and UNO. As part of the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition David protested the rezoning the Rabsky-Pfizer lots, a rezoning which raised concerns about planned segregated and discriminatory housing by the developer. After a steady fight, which had its beginnings in 2009, they finally received a win when a settlement was reached in December 2017.  David’s advocacy helped to make possible the future development of over 1,000 units of affordable housing now in the pipeline for North Brooklyn.

Mildred Tudy-Johnston was another inspiration for David’s activism. Ms. Tudy was a devoted teacher and activist for fairness, equality, child welfare and lived by the example of her motto, “If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem!” For many years, David and his wife Patricia aided in the annual Kwanza celebration named after Ms. Tudy at St John the Evangelist.
David was a fabulous cook and loved foods of all ethnicities.

David Dobosz was one of the rare people who saw the value of whomever he was with, and at the same time openly conveyed this observation. This validation encouraged and inspired those to keep up the good work or even do better.  David Dobosz made a difference on an individual level and on a community level. He will be missed.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia Dobosz; daughters: Jeannette Montes, Kristina Dobosz, and Stephanie Dobosz; grandson, John Paul, Jr.; and his brother and sister, Paul & Martha Dobosz.

UFT MEMBERS SHOULD BE ANGRY AT DE BLASIO, CARRANZA AND MULGREW

Anybody who has read this blog for a while knows that one of the best bloggers out there was Reality Based Educator. His blog was more popular than ours and my ego would be bruised sometimes when I used to think that he wrote a better blog. Unfortunately, he is not blogging these days but on the bright side he is still on Twitter and he also continues as an active NYC teacher. This is his reaction on Twitter to the first death of a teacher from complications from COVID-19. Sandra Santos Viscaino from P.S. 9 worked on the three days (March 17, 18 and 19) that the UFT let their members toil in unsafe schools for professional development. The UFT didn't tell members in no uncertain terms to work from home in the middle of a pandemic.

rbe

@perdidostschool

Awful. Just awful.
I am so angry at the chancellor and the mayor for their callous disregard for our lives.

But I am even angrier at the @UFT because I fucking pay them to protect me and all they protect is their own power, perks and privileges.

RBE is totally right; we pay for the consistent UFT surrenders. I very much doubt what happened at P.S 9 was an isolated COVID-9 in the schools case. Word came to me that five UFT members at one Queens High School who went into work with the UFT's okay from March 17-19 are now sick with Coronavirus. The Union knew this building was infected on March 17 and didn't pull the teachers out.

I know of another Queens High School building where COVID-19 was suspected. One principal in that school building wisely told her staff to stay home but in another school in the same building, the teachers still were given the option to report the next two days. The UFT had a responsibility to clear out all suspected unsafe buildings. Why do we need a union if they won't do everything they can to protect member health? That is ultimately Michael Mulgrew's job.

The Department of Education not releasing the numbers on DOE COVID-19 cases again shows UFT weakness. Why isn't the Union screaming publicly for the numbers? Why is it left to Sue Edelman to fight this fight?

When the chips were down and UFT members were calling out sick en masse for March 16, the Union showed who they really are by putting out the memo to District Reps that was leaked to the Daily News. Don't ever forget these words from your Union:

“A coordinated sick-out will be interpreted by the DOE as an organized effort in violation of the Taylor Law and the Triborough Law,” union officials wrote its leaders.

“They will perceive it as a labor action and strike. Each participant is subject to a fine of two days’ pay for every missed day and arrest. However, even worse, the UFT will suffer greatly with fines and penalties. Please advise against.”

They cared more about their dues than member lives in the middle of a pandemic. Let's repeat what RBE stated perfectly about the UFT: "I fucking pay them to protect me and all they protect is their own power, perks and privileges."



Some UFT apologists will claim that the UFT's robust reaction to losing the first two days of Passover, Holy Thursday and Good Friday in Mulgrew's email sent out Friday night shows how angry the UFT is. No, it is another example of how completely impotent the Union is.

From Friday's email:

Under collective bargaining rules, the UFT has the right to negotiate a compensation package for all the extra days you are being required to work, and I will do everything in my power to see that you are properly compensated for your time.

This statement is basically a meaningless promise. Due to the UFT's usual overabundance of caution (I am being kind here), the Union has basically zero leverage in this negotiation, and as a matter of fact, in virtually every negotiation. The Mayor and Chancellor can laugh about the UFT threatening lawsuits in a pandemic. We do collective begging.

Ultimately, however, it is the rank and file and not the leadership that controls our union destiny. Please stop accepting that the membership's fate forever is just to accept the situation as it is but don't dream about voting Mulgrew/Unity out. UFT elections are rigged in a sophisticated way as the Union controls almost the entire flow of information to the members. There is no way an opposition group could possibly get to the thousands of retirees scattered around the country to get them to know them, like them, and trust them enough to vote for them.

As there currently is no viable political option, I would like to talk about a different idea: a DUES STRIKE.  There is a June opt-out period when members have the option not to pay union dues. I will not opt-out. I am pro-union.

However, we can go on a dues strike until the UFT changes in big ways. I'm not talking about getting the 8.25% interest back on TDA or seniority transfers but rather internal, structural changes so the UFT functions as a union again. Unfortunately, this action will never work unless there are many making the statement of going on strike and are willing to return to paying dues if the UFT fixes itself. We can talk about what that repair means for me and open it up to everyone for their ideas in future posts.

The elite in this country are more than likely going to take advantage of the state of emergency and its aftermath from COVID-19 to enrich themselves while there will probably be major austerity for the rest of us. The economy is more than ruined and will be for some time. We need to stand up for ourselves collectively or beg for crumbs. Mulgrew and company can choose the latter route because they are not impacted that much. I choose the former path but my personal opinion as a humble, semi-retired worker who blogs means very little. I don't even represent ICEUFT in this thinking, just myself. It's the UFT members en masse who matter. If you are not going to collectively take control now, when will you?


P.S. I would like to put out a call today and ask how many other school districts around the area that are all in a state of emergency will be working on Thursday and Friday? I checked around and New Jersey is still getting spring break. I also discovered that one Long Island district still received a full spring break and will be off on Thursday and Friday too. Readers, do you know of many other districts working Thursday or Friday?

UFT LOSES PASSOVER, HOLY THURSDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY

Schools will be open next Thursday and Friday in the latest giveback from UFT.

The Mayor used the state of emergency as an excuse to keep schools open on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Passover.

President Mulgrew disagreed with this one at least.

His email (see below) says if a teacher wants to take off, employees have been granted four new CAR days.

I have a maybe not so brilliant idea:

Everyone call in for religious observance next Thursday and Friday. That's right, I mean everybody. Screw the Taylor Law's prohibition against strikes. If you haven't had the need for God in your life yet in this crisis, surely you will find religion by Thursday.

I think we all should be born again next week. Show some guts. We can find some rabbis, priests and ministers to sign our notes.

I'm not disparaging religion or spirituality here. I have done much more praying the last few weeks than in a while.

Mulgrew's latest surrender without a fight in its entirety:

Dear,

The schools chancellor has informed me that Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided to keep New York City public schools open on Thursday, April 9, and Friday, April 10, even though those days are major religious holidays.

I told him flat out that I disagreed with that decision, but the city is going ahead with it anyway. Under the state of emergency he declared in New York City, the mayor has the authority to do that.

With this step, Mayor de Blasio shows that he does not recognize just how hard you have been working during these stressful and anxiety-filled times. I know how seriously you take the role you are playing in this pandemic. You have kept learning alive and been a social and emotional lifeline for 1.1 million students and their families. You met this challenge head-on while taking care of your own families, and no one can question your results.

I can assure you that there has been an outpouring of thanks from parents and from first responders and health care workers. Meanwhile, the silence from City Hall has been deafening. Never once during this crisis has the mayor thanked you for your service. Instead, he diminishes your work by describing it only as a vehicle to keep children at home. 

I warned the chancellor that since so many members and the families we serve observe those two days, it will cause disruption. New York City schools have always been closed for the start of Passover and Good Friday, which are among the most important religious holidays of the calendar year.

Under collective bargaining rules, the UFT has the right to negotiate a compensation package for all the extra days you are being required to work, and I will do everything in my power to see that you are properly compensated for your time. In the meantime, the DOE has agreed with the UFT, District Council 37 and the Council for Supervisors and Administrators that due to the number of different religious holidays that fall within the spring break, all school-based and other 10-month employees will automatically be granted four additional CAR days in their banks. People who take religious observance days will have those days deducted from those four new CAR days. The DOE's granting of these four CAR days now in no way impedes us from demanding a full compensation package in negotiations as soon as we are back in our schools.

No matter how angry and frustrated we are right now, we must focus on the most important thing, which is to get through this crisis. I am sadly sure that there will be many more tough challenges in the days and weeks to come. But we will face them together as we stay physically apart. 

Be safe, be well and stay strong.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew
UFT President

NO DRASTIC EDUCATION CUTS IN STATE BUDGET NOW.

State budget finalized. Big cuts are not there yet but could still be coming. This is the entire education part from City and State.

Public school funding

Drastic cuts to school aid appear to have been averted, thanks to additional money from the federal government, the aid to localities bill shows. Although the state is set to cut just shy of $400 million from school funding compared to the executive budget, the feds have chipped in an additional $1.3 billion. So the updated budget language actually represents about a $928 million increase in spending compared to Cuomor’s executive budget. It’s also about $1.4 billion more in total funding since last year’s enacted budget.

However, Foundation Aid, the main source of public school state funding, was frozen at last year’s levels. The budget also drops Cuomo’s proposal to change how the state allocates money in a way that would supposedly end the longtime “shares” agreement that allocates a fixed share of total state education funding to New York City and Long Island. In addition to the Foundation Aid freeze, the budget also authorizes the state education commissioner to make “pandemic adjustments” to school district allocation based on how much additional aid a district received from coronavirus relief funds. All the spending comes with the caveat that the state budget director may withhold any appropriations if the budget becomes unbalanced throughout the year due to economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

State lawmakers had big ambitions at the end of last year when it came to education funding. Democratic members of the Assembly and the state Senate were hoping to increase the amount of Foundation Aid part of a long-running feud with the governor over the meaning of a landmark 2006 legal settlement on education funding. But by the beginning of the week, it appeared that lawmakers were pushing for a freeze in the level of education funding in light of Cuomo’s warning of “drastic” cuts.

BROOKLYN TEACHER DIES DUE TO COMPLICATIONS FROM CORONAVIRUS

This is from Chalkbeat. We have lost one of our NYC teachers. Condolences to the family of Sandra Santos-Vizcaino and P.S. 9 community.

God, please no more.

The Department of Education, if you read through to the bottom of the Chalkbeat NY piece, is still defending having staff in schools saying there was no greater risk than had employees been in the general community. No, it was safer to be at home in a pandemic.

‘A tremendous loss’: Brooklyn third grade teacher dies from coronavirus

A Brooklyn elementary school teacher described as an “amazing hugger,” and who pushed to make sure her students always had interesting books to read, died from complications of the new coronavirus, according to relatives.

Sandra Santos-Vizcaino, taught third grade at Brooklyn’s P.S. 9, according to the school’s website. She died Tuesday evening.

“Yesterday was a challenging day for the community as we faced the devastating reality of losing a teacher and a challenging night, as we faced the sounds of our thoughts and fears,” wrote Fatimah Ali, the school’s principal, in a letter to the community.

News of Santos-Vizcaino’s passing spread quickly through the Brooklyn community. Jessamyn Lee said the teacher still stayed in touch about three years after her daughter was in Santos-Vizcaino’s second grade dual language class at another school, P.S. 84.

In fact, Santos-Vizcaino kept up with many of her former students, and just a month ago visited one while he underwent cancer treatment, Lee said. 

“She was an amazing hugger and really generous soul and really a talented teacher,” Lee said. 

Lee said that Santos-Vizcaino had been in the classroom for at least 20 years and was “very much looking forward to retirement.” She had been building her dream home with her husband in the Dominican Republic, Lee said.  

“This is a tremendous loss.”

On an online fundraising page, Santos-Vizcaino said her students “work hard,” and said she wanted to provide them with a “creative and collaborative” classroom that met each of their unique needs. In some of her donation requests, she said she hand-picked books for students based on their interests, and successfully raised money to buy graphic novels and stories about math. 

“I have a class of voracious readers,” Santos-Vizcaino said in a thank you note posted to donors.  

Unlike other city agencies, including the police department, the education department has declined to say how many of its employees have died due to the coronavirus or are infected. A principal, paraprofessional, and school safety agent are among those whose deaths have been publicly reported. 

Asked Wednesday about why the education department has not confirmed infection or fatality rates, schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said: “You have to keep in mind that the police and fire department are out right now serving the public.” He added that “there is no mechanism” for the department to track how many teachers have tested positive.

Santos-Vizcaino last reported to P.S. 9 on March 19, the final day of professional development before school buildings shut down. She was hospitalized on the 26th and passed away five days later. Education department officials said the school informed the community that there was a self-reported positive coronavirus case on March 29.

Still, some educators have criticized the department for its shift in policy to no longer confirm coronavirus infections, leaving it to educators to inform each other if they are concerned the infection is spreading within their school community. 

Department officials have countered that because the coronavirus is widespread in New York City, educators were not at greater risk when reporting to school than they were elsewhere in the community.

LIVE BLOGGING FROM MULGREW TOWN HALL (unedited, written on old computer that has some keys that don't work)

When I was patched in, President Mulgrew talked about the great work teachers were doing. He then stated that Governor Cuomo had the right in a state of emergency to keep the schools open during spring break. This was the key time whether this crisis lasts for 6 weeks or 6 months.  He then related that the economy is ruined and there is a huge budget hole in the state. There is additional state funding coming from DC. Mulgrew told Chancellor that remote learning during what would have been spring break should be something different than regular instruction during the break. Teachers and parents need a break.

We are in conversations about making it family engagement. Things like virtual tours. Parents say they are getting way too much work from teachers. Parents said that across the boroughs. Remote learning is crazy but we are getting it done. No training, no support system but we turned the system into a remote learning system. Frontpage story in the NY Times saying how much we're doing. Important that we continue to do that. In the middle of this crisis we are the continuing lifeline for all of these families.

Nurses making great sacrifices. There has to be a real conversation about how we are going to be compensated for this week. There will be a real conversation. Nobody is saying that we are not working at home remotely. We are going to push with the chancellor to make it different for the spring break week. We have to spend time with our families. Getting to some kind of plan on what we will do. On the phone with the medical people, these three weeks are essential as to whether this will be six weeks or six months. We all want to go out. We want to go to the grocery store without having to worry about touching someone. Mulgrew does not think he will shake anyone's hand again.

Nancy Miller, a nurse from Staten Island will be speaking and then AFT President Randi Weingarten will come on to talk about the federal issues. State has a $10 billion hole. City is in bad financial shape according to Comptroller Scott Stringer. Doing this together. Have seen what we have done. Governor made this decision based on public health. We will get through the week and then get through the crisis together.

Mulgrew introduces Nancy Miller. She thanks UFT for getting remote learning going. Detox, operating room and more closed. Hospitals are filled with ventilators. Some patients moved to Albany. This is a crisis. We appreciate the support nurses get from the Federation of Nurses UFT. Thanks UFT for work they are getting from the disaster relief fund. Mulgrew responds that we can't do enough for nurses. Going near a hospital now is surreal. Calls nurses true heroes. Says we would be in much worse shape without nurses. Thanks them three times.

Mulgrew will take questions and comments

First question is from Melrose School. Teacher asks that since they will not be back in schools by April 20, but can teachers go in to pick up resources in buildings?
Mulgrew Answer-Some schools have equipment but for safety reasons DOE doesn't want people to go into buildings. Mulgrew asks if administration is trying to recreate school day.
Teacher answers that we have a flexible schedule. Kids not independent. Working after hours for families. Superintendent wants pacing picked up.
Mulgrew Answer-Parents saying we are doing way too much. Parents want things to be pulled back. Parents saying they have to be there with their children. Having conversations with the chancellor on this. We are hearing from parents that we need to slow down. Parents agree we are doing too much.

Question- Teacher thanks first responders. President alluded to the fact that there will be compensation for working the vacation week.
Answer-Obligation to come up with a compensation package. Something has to happen. Chancellor agreed that he is responsible for having that conversation. Governor put out the executive order on Monday. It caught us by surprise. We are moving to a compensation package but we don't know what it is.

AFT President Randi Weingarten checked in. Mulgrew said he hopes federal lifeline is coming.

Weingarten- She is proud of Mulgrew and our members. No words on probably the worst crisis in the USA since World War II. We are all social distancing. We are flying the plane and building it at the same time. Three things AFT is doing nationally.

1-Randi watched the UFT beg for schools to be closed and then there was engagement. Feb 2 we worked with UFT people but President Trump said this wasn't an issue. Governor Cuomo getting some of the best public health advice. Cuomo is performing the best of the governors.

2-Focus on healthcare providers.

3-Issue about the short term and long term economies. Trying to make sure every teacher, para and food service workers still have a job. Third recovery bill has to be about employment, making sure everyone still has a job. Talking to Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to make sure Title I money comes to schools. We need to be Roosevelt and not Hoover. We need to be Keynsian and not supply side. We got over $1 trillion. The economy has died. Can we ultimately stimulate it by getting people jobs and getting money into state and city coffers. Protect education. Members making AFT and UFT President's job easier by doing the work we are doing. Betsy DeVos giving no advice. Other students limiting high school time to 90 minutes, 60 minutes for middle schools,, a little less for elementary schools. Randi concludes by saying thank you. Says we are the heart and soul. She is grateful.

Mulgrew thanks Randi. Says UFT is her home and she is welcome.

Mulgrew says members can still take religious observance.

Question-D75 Chapter leader asks about religious observance days. Michael Sill answers that April 8 would be a day people would want to take. We are not working April 9 or 10 but people can take Easter Monday or the last two days of Passover. People can go beyond the three personal days and borrow days. We are looking at non attendance (no days taken out of bank) but we are not there yet. Mulgrew comes back to say everything is flexible including days off.

Question-Can't go back to schools. Anyway we can go back to classrooms to create meaningful lessons for students?
Answer- Looking to get protocol in place where people can stay away from each other and still go into schools. Amazing part of this is teachers are looking to get back into schools to see how they can make things better for students.

Question- How will the budget cuts affect us and our students?
Answer-Trying to get a flat budget for maintenance of effort. Our position is schools have to be held safe harmless and central should absorb cuts. After state budget comes city and then federal.

Question-Teaching live with platforms such as Zoom, as lessons have been hacked. What can we do as a union to encourage principals not to use these programs?
Answer-Parents are posting sessions online. It took DOE legal team to come up with rules so parents can't record or distribute what teachers and related service providers are doing. Pull back live stuff but people can use it if they want to. Some are having a ball with this.
Followup-Some are uncomfortable
Answer-We are in student houses. That's good and bad. A month ago, nobody was thinking about this. Now we are becoming experts on the fly.

Question-Teacher in self quarantine. Champion of schools being closed before March 16. Concern that students need schools but the week before when they were talking about sanitizing schools, it was not happening according to CDC standards the week before schools closed. Teacher was reprimanded for making kids wash their hands before they came to classrooms. If we bring people back April 20, we can't jump the gun because we want things back to normal.
Answer-No conversations about opening on April 20. UFT will take legal actions before opening schools. We knew there were cases of COVID-19 but schools were not closing. Taking legal action to make sure there is oversight over the city to make sure they follow the correct rules. Process will be intense about reopening. We must ensure the safety of everyone. Only mayor mentioned opening. Governor's medical advice says that there has to be a strong defense against stopping this so there isn't a recontamination. Need to be safe before reopening. Do legal advocacy and lobbying with parents.
Followup-Wants to be part of group advocating on this issue.

Question-Teachers not expected to provide what is done when we are in buildings. Concerned about observations.
Answer-We are having conversations at the state level about ratings for the year and tenure. In terms of observations, no agreement that says people can be observed remotely. Administrators can join classrooms. Beth Norton is general counsel. She says nothing from DOE on observations. It must be negotiated.

Question-Some parents concerned about grades. No decisions have been made. Is there anything on the table moving forward?
Answer-We will have to have a conversation about norming on a grading policy. Probably out a longer than April 20.
Followup-Union should put out something preemptive.
Answer-Everything has to go through city hall so it has become cumbersome. Things must go through four layers at city hall.
Followup-We should have access to gloves.
Answer-Will note that.

Question-What if the governor wants to suspend summer vacation?
Answer-We are watching that very carefully. April fools joke about that. Parents will support us if that happens.
Followup-What is remote learning supposed to be?
Answer-Building the plane as we're flying in the air. Parents say we're doing too much. Lessons, activities and homework are too much.

Question-Regents, what about the lab hours for science Regents exams? Teachers worried that with remote learning, some students taking it as a vacation. Could Regents be canceled?
Answer-No answer yet. We have to think about graduation requirements. Can't make up lab hours if we don't go back until May 1 or June 1.
Followup-Create virtual programs.
Answer-Will bring up piece with virtual labs to DOE and state.

Question-Social worker asks about tenure.
Answer-DOE originally said no tenure this year. UFT says tenure determinations can still be done this year. Trying to settle this at the state level. Optimistic there.

Question-D75 elementary school says kids need beyond laptops paper and crayons. Can we send art supplies to public school students?
Answer-It's a great idea to give out art supplies. We gave thousands of books to homeless advocates. For spring break week, we should do something about art.

Question-Payroll secretary asks about an outline for secretaries.
Answer-Agreement on student attendance and teacher attendance. Schools having check in period. Teachers will get a form and it asks if you were in attendance for. Form sent to you at a school. Check it. Mike Sill checks in to say it is a school-wide attendance approach. Staff attendance is that on Friday, staff will get an email on Friday and they will check in if they were present or absent each day that week.

Mulgrew-Working on something for secretaries.

Question-Perturbed and overwhelmed because person has no wifi.
Answer-Send an email to UFT to get help.
Followup-What constitutes attendance? What does present mean?
Answer-You were engaged with the students, you were present. Once schedule is set, if you followed it you are present.
Followup-Can kids keep tech?
Answer-Up to DOE but it is a good idea.

Question-Excessing in June or September?
Answer-Excessing rules apply.
Mike Sill-Nothing about the pandemic directly effects excessing.  Reverse seniority order within license. DOE shuffling ATR's around much less than before. It will be a challenge going forward.

Mulgrew-Teletherapy can be done via phone.

Question-Students who are not taking advantage of online learning. We are making phone calls but kids not engaging on the platform. What can be done?
Answer-This is why we changed the attendance taking procedures. Some children who have life challenges while others just not engaging. DOE has to do something beyond telling the schools to do things. Chancellor agreed.

Question-Teaching fellow concerned about certification requirements.
Answer-State will extend period for all different criteria that have to be met for new teachers and other licenses. Deadlines will be extended. All will be held safe harmless.

Question-How many times do we have to reach out to parents for kids not being active?
Answer-DOE has to intervene. Not much teachers and individual schools can do. DOE has other resources to reach out.
Followup-Students partially engaged.
Answer-This is a lot more work than going to school in remote learning. Reach out to the administration to get support to make phone calls while teacher is teaching.
Followup-Parent wants to know about her own child's graduation and a ceremony.
Answer-We don't know.

Thanks everyone. Hopes the DOE doesn't take two more days away. Look to the future, nobody thinks what we have accomplished in the last two weeks would have been possible. Will go down in history. Teachers figured it out. Take time for yourself. Member Assistance Program having group therapy.

Tells people God bless and be safe.

(That's it. Still waiting for a hard question. It sounded like a Delegate Assembly. Any thoughts?)

For anyone who thinks this was free speech and the questions were random, I just heard from three teachers who told me that the questions were screened and if the screener didn't like the question, the member was disconnected.

For example, a special education teacher wanted to know if what Mulgrew said about slowing down was true but an assistant principal wanted much more, what was the teacher supposed to do?

MULGREW'S VIDEO ADDRESS ON GIVING BACK SPRING BREAK

Teachers, parents and students can forget about a break this April from what for many are onerous assignments. I say that as a parent. My kids were up until after 11:00 P.M. last night finishing school work.

The UFT has agreed we need to work instead of having spring break. For those needing justification, here is a link to President Michael Mulgrew's video address.

Mulgrew will hold a telephone meeting at 3:00 pm today. My wife has signed up. We will be listening if our own kids can do their work without us for a bit.

Here is a very interesting part of an article from LoHud (thank you commenter from previous post) on the spring break issue:

For districts to continue instruction during previously negotiated breaks on school calendars, teacher unions must agree to the change, perhaps in exchange for future compensation or time off.

"Districts will have to work with their unions to find a path forward," Albert said.

David Albert is spokesperson for the New York State School Board's Association. From his quote we learn that the UFT had to agree to the change. They can't blame Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Funny how I must have missed in Mulgrew's video what the UFT is getting back in exchange for giving up spring break.

For those who want to fight it, here is a link to a petition to the Governor to get back our break.

You can sign it. Also, everybody's computer can have lots of issues come those days.

I really do not have a problem with teachers who want to check in with the students that week. There should be extra money paid for those who work by posting and grading assignments. While money is not their primary motivation, I very much doubt the first responders are working through the crisis for free.

Note also that AFT President Randi Weingarten will be on WBAI's Talk out of School at 10:00 A.M. this morning.  I will try to tune in but with Camille working hard, I have to teach my two kids.