PSC-CUNY PRESIDENT JAMES DAVIS EMAIL ON MLC PROPOSED SHIFT TO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE

 Dear Colleagues,

The PSC invites retirees and in-service members to a meeting on Tuesday, July 13, at 12:30 pm, to discuss the proposed shift in healthcare administration from Medicare to a Medicare Advantage group plan that the NYC Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) announced yesterday. In-service members are also welcome to attend. A zoom link to register follows below.

Through the MLC, retirees from the PSC and other municipal labor unions receive medical benefits, supplemented in some cases, like ours, by additional benefits from the union’s Welfare Fund. The MLC’s vote on the proposal’s approval has been scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, July 14. If approved, implementation would begin January 1, 2022.

The stated purpose of shifting NYC’s 250,000 municipal retirees to Medicare Advantage is to achieve cost-savings for the City while preserving no-premium health care for retirees. However, negotiations between the MLC and the City’s Office of Labor Relations have proceeded without sufficient input from or accountability to those directly affected. Spurred by the activism of our retiree chapter, the PSC called in April 2021 for a moratorium on negotiations until unions and retirees had an opportunity to review and assess any proposed Medicare Advantage plan.

The MLC’s vote on approval is being held just six days after the proposal was made available to leaders of the MLC unions, an inadequate review period. The PSC would like to hear in advance of Wednesday’s vote from interested members of our bargaining unit – current or future retirees – about the proposed Medicare Advantage Plan, a group plan developed by Emblem/GHI/Anthem. We have been asking many questions of the MLC, and we’re sure you will have your own. Information provided by the MLC is available here: Intro, Strategic plan, Comparison. If the MLC approves the proposal, the PSC will schedule a follow-up meeting at which Emblem/GHI/Anthem representatives will be available to respond to questions and concerns.

The PSC has a strong, longstanding record on health benefits. Our Welfare Fund provides the same supplemental benefits for retirees (dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drugs) as for active members. Joining me at Tuesday’s meeting will be former PSC President, Barbara Bowen, former PSC Executive Director, Debbie Bell, and Retiree Chapter Chair, Bill Friedheim. They bring decades of experience on these issues; I hope you can join us.

This meeting is for active or retired members of the PSC bargaining unit only.

In solidarity,

James Davis

PSC President

PRINCIPAL OF MASPETH HIGH SCHOOL REMOVED AND FACING TERMINATION CHARGES

The Department of Education is handling the principal at Maspeth High School differently than their usual use of their large broom to sweep incidents involving administrators under the carpet. Instead of just reassigning the principal to a district or central office after the Office of Special Investigations substantiated numerous academic misconduct allegations, the DOE is actually trying to fire Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir. He has been principal since 2011 so he is no rookie. 

From Selim Algar in the NY Post:

The DOE said it will seek to terminate deposed Maspeth High School principal Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir after investigators substantiated a raft of academic misconduct charges against him.

A group of teachers told The Post in August 2019 that administrators pressured them to pass failing students and that staffers gave out Regents exam answers during the test.

The whistleblowers also reported that kids who did little to no work were graduated via phantom classes and credits. 

The DOE's statement to the Queens Chronicle:

“Following DOE’s investigation into Principal Abdul-Mutakabbir’s unacceptable behavior, DOE served him with disciplinary charges and removed him from payroll while we seek to terminate his employment pursuant to state law,” said DOE spokesperson Katie O’Hanlon in an email to the Chronicle on Thursday. “Our schools must have the highest standards of academic integrity, and we are working quickly to bring in new, qualified leadership to Maspeth High School.”

Some specifics from the Chronicle article:

The substantiated allegations claimed by the OSI include:

• that “incomplete” grades were improperly changed to passing grades;

• that students were improperly awarded one English/Language Arts credit, and one economics credit for a humanities course that did not meet requirements for the credits;

• that students were improperly awarded one credit per semester for a Spanish course that did not exist, and that the students were improperly discharged with advanced Regents Diplomas, without earning six Language Other Than English credits in a single language;

• the awarding of student credit for writing courses that did not meet requirements; and

• testing misconduct where staff members assisted students on Regents exams.

It took two years but the system is actually working here. All of you who contstantly say you are experiencing similar situations have to step forward if you want to restore integrity to the school system.  Anonymous comments and allegations won't cut it. 

You have to identify the school and be specific. If anything happens where you are disciplined after blowing the whistle on fraud, scream retaliation. 

UFT UPDATE ON RETIREE HEALTHCARE PRIVATIZATION

Here’s the latest on health care negotiations, James.

In ten years, we have seen the City’s cost for health care rise from some $5 billion to $11 billion. Despite our successes in sheltering our members and their families from these rising costs, increases of this magnitude are not sustainable if we want to continue to have access to quality, premium-free health care.

Over the past few months, the UFT has worked tirelessly with fellow unionists on the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) to deal with the rising cost of health care, while ensuring no loss of benefits or diminishment in the quality of care.

The MLC has developed a custom Medicare Advantage Group Plan — a plan unlike any other Medicare Advantage program in existence. This new plan not only mirrors and improves on the GHI Senior Care Plan, it also includes aggressive oversight to protect member benefits.

Most importantly, under this plan, retirees will still have premium-free access to the same providers and hospitals they now use.

free access to the same providers and hospitals they now use. More About the Benefits

Your Health Care Checklist Same doctors Same hospitals Same prescriptions benefits Annual out-of-pocket expenses now capped at $1,470 No premiums Nationwide services Access to additional doctors and health care providers

Next Steps in the Process
	Negotiations have been conducted with several health care providers.
	An independent mediator has made his recommendation for the health care provider with the strongest benefits for retired municipal employees.
	MLC votes on the agreement.
	The MLC will schedule information sessions for retired municipal employees.
	An Open Enrollment period will be available for retired municipal employees.
	The UFT is here to help you during this time and will continue to send you updates as they develop.

ERIC ADAMS ON EDUCATION AND MORE

Now that Eric Adams has been projected to win the Democratic primary for Mayor of NYC, there is all kinds of speculation as to how he will govern the city and specifically, how he will run the schools. Adams is heavily favored to beat Republican Curtis Sliwa in November because of the huge Democratic advantage in registrations in NYC.

The Chalkbeat staff has a thorough piece on what a Mayor Adams could mean for the schools.

On the longer school year idea from Adams:

Adams has discussed keeping schools open year-round and having a permanent remote learning option — though he would not put 400 children with one virtual teacher, as he said at one point. He says he would fund online schooling by levying a data tax on big tech companies that sell private data to advertisers and others.

He would “create more flexibility for parents in how — and when — their child receives their education so that students aren’t left behind and we can much better utilize our education infrastructure,” he previously told Chalkbeat.

On police in the schools:

Changes to school policing

In the wake of massive protests against racist police violence, pressure has grown to rethink school policing. The next mayor will face major decisions about whether to reduce the role of more than 5,000 school-based officers who patrol the city’s schools — by which itself is one of the nation’s largest police forces.

De Blasio agreed to begin a multi-year process of transferring oversight of the school safety division from the NYPD to the education department, but a major part of that work — and the implementation — will fall on the next mayor.

Adams, who was in the NYPD for 22 years, has indicated that he wants safety agents to remain, but he said there should not be a “police culture” in schools.

On charter schools:

The next mayor will also decide how accommodating the city will be when charter schools request space in public school buildings.

The issue may be less relevant in the immediate future, as the city has reached the cap on the number of charter schools that can open under state law.

Still, the mayor will set the tone and determine how friendly to be to a sector that educates about 138,000 of the city’s roughly 1 million public school students, according to projections from the state education department.

Adams has said on multiple occasions that he supports charters. (A charter school advocate started a political action committee to raise money for Adams.) And while he has indicated that he favors keeping the cap on charters, he has also said that successful charters should be duplicated while failing ones shut down.

Journalist Ross Barkan has an excellent article speculating on what an Adams mayoralty will look like.

An excerpt:

Adams will be a machine mayor, one who will, like the wildly pugnacious Rudy Giuliani, be unafraid to joust with political rivals and adversarial reporters. He will have vendettas and seek to execute them as best he can. The list is long of those who have clashed with Adams, legislators and council members and activists, and they may soon learn the might of City Hall.

Adams is, unquestionably, the candidate of the working-class, having rode to victory with a dominant performance in outer borough Black and Latino neighborhoods. And he is unquestionably the candidate of the very forces who seek to plunder what little these working people have and drive them from this city. Republican billionaires, Wall Street financiers, and real estate elites bet heavily on Adams, funding a super PAC and plying him with donations, and now they will seek to cash in. For the many young progressives who bemoaned the milquetoast de Blasio, they will soon see what a mayor of capital really looks like.

Of course, the power elite of New York City could ask for little better than Adams, short of Michael Bloomberg himself. Adams is far more unpredictable and incendiary than Bloomberg, but he offers greater cover for their aims. An old white man who runs as a Republican and antagonizes labor unions is never the ideal vehicle for a neoliberal agenda; he is too easy to see through. Better to have Adams, a Black man with close ties to the largest labor unions in the city, a former police captain who is the genuine son of the working-class. The Left knows, by now at least, what they are in for.

Any thoughts from our readers?

DOE UPDATES ATTENDANCE REGULATION FOR PEDAGOGICAL EMPLOYEES

Everyone should familiarize themselves with Chancellor's Regulations that deal with employees.

C-601 deals with attendance. This is where high school teachers can find their right to a duty-free lunch period.

Last month, this regulation was updated for the first time in 21 years. Excused absences that are so numerous as to limit effectiveness can lead to disciplinary action. That said, two new sentences have been added to this paragraph which can help pedagogues stay out of trouble.

While actual absence which has been excused in accordance with regulations does not, of and by itself, constitute grounds for disciplinary action, absences which are so numerous as to limit the effectiveness of service may lead to disciplinary action for incompetent service or unfitness to perform obligations properly to the service. The fact that excuse or leave was applied for and granted properly does not preclude disciplinary action which may range from adverse rating to the institution of proceedings for dismissal or termination of service. Such disciplinary action shall not be precluded even when the cause of absence is a medical or physical condition. However, before proceeding with disciplinary action for excessive absences based on a medical or physical condition, the supervisor should review, on a case by case basis, whether a reasonable accommodation is needed, has been requested, or is already in place. If a new reasonable accommodation is needed or has been requested, the supervisor shall proceed with the interactive process/cooperative dialogue consistent with Chancellor’s Regulation A-830, Personnel Memorandum No. 5 (2020-2021) (or any successor), DOE’s anti-discrimination policy, and all applicable laws.

Don't be afraid to ask for accommodations.

The Teacher's Contract also covers discipline and attendance in Article 16.

Article 16I: 

I. Discipline for Authorized Absences

No employee shall be disciplined, adversely rated or have any derogatory material placed in his/her file for taking an approved sabbatical for restoration of health, approved unpaid leave for restoration of health or a central DOE approved paid leave. Discipline for time and attendance is not a reflection of the employee’s performance while at work.

Appply for those approved leaves if you need them.

Remember, also teachers are entitled to ten self-treated days per year. The great myth that teachers can't take more than three days in a row without a doctor's note is just that, a myth.

Article 16A11:

Teachers on regular appointment shall be granted absence refunds for illness on application, without a statement from a physician, for a total of no more than 10 days in8any school year. Teachers will be allowed to use three of such 10 days of sick leave for personal business provided that reasonable advance notice is given to the head of the school. Teachers may use the days allowed for personal business for the care of ill family members. For the purpose of this provision, family member shall be defined as: spouse; natural, foster or step parent; child; brother or sister; father-in-law; mother-inlaw; any relative residing in the household; and domestic partner, provided such domestic partner is registered pursuant to the terms set forth in the New York City Administrative Code Section 3-240 et seq. Days off for personal business are intended to be used only for personal business which cannot be conducted on other than a school day and during other than school hours.

For those working per session activities such as summer school:

Article 15C1

1. Sick Leave

Teachers employed on a regular basis in per session activities will be granted sick

leave with pay for absence from duty due to personal illness as follows:

a. One session during each month of service, or two sessions during the month of

August, will be granted to those employed in summer day high schools, summer evening

high schools, summer junior high schools, summer special day schools, day treatment

centers, and institutional settings; summer day elementary schools, summer evening

elementary schools for adults, and vacation day camps.

b. One session after each period of 20 sessions of service will be granted to those

employed in evening high and trade schools, after school centers, evening community

and youth and adult centers, adult education classes, and the special after school

instructional help program.

c. Applications for excuse with pay for absence due to personal illness must be

accompanied by a certificate of a physician, except that teachers in summer activities

shall be granted refunds for illness on application without a statement from a physician

for no more than one session per summer.

d. Such sick leave shall not be cumulative from one school year to another school

year nor from one per session activity to another per session activity, but shall be

transferred to the teacher’s regular cumulative absence reserve.

DOE SUMMER RISING OPERATIONS GUIDE

Thanks to Jeff Kaufman for creating this link for the 2021 Summer Rising Operations Guide from the New York City Department of Education.

The health and safety protocols begin on page 31.

Here is the part on social distancing:

Implementing Three Feet Physical Distancing for All Grades

During Summer Rising

Due to historically low levels of COVID-19 transmission(Open external link) and as a step towards NYC DOE schools returning to full-time in-person learning(Open external link) in the fall, New York City has reached the Centers for Disease Control threshold(Open external link) to accommodate students in all grade levels, including middle and high schools students, to learn in classrooms this summer with physical distancing of 3 feet between students if certain requirements are met (as further explained below).

Principals in Charge should start to plan for Summer Rising classes to accommodate all students in grades K-12 at 3 feet of physical distancing between students in classrooms; however, 6 feet of physical distancing is still required for:

● Activities such as physical education and sports; see the Physical Education Expectations for In-Person and Remote Instruction for additional physical distancing guidance for physical education instruction.

● Activities that require mask removal (e.g., eating, drinking, playing a wind instrument), and voice-projecting (e.g., singing, chanting, shouting);

● Common areas (e.g., hallways, entrance ways, lobbies, auditoriums); and

● Between two or more adults and between students and adults.

Since the warmer weather is upon us, schools are encouraged to arrange for students to conduct any activities that still require 6 feet of physical distancing outdoors, whenever possible. Please note that meals cannot be eaten in classrooms that are arranged for 3-feet of physical distance for instruction. Please see the Summer Rising Meal Service information (below)for flexible in-school meal service strategies, including the use of the cafeteria.

Use this guide to hold the DOE to their own standards. 

INDEPENDENT BUDGET OFFICE SHOWS MAYOR BUDGETING 0%-0%-1% FOR CITY EMPLOYEE SALARY INCREASES FOR NEXT 3 YEARS

Thanks to David Irons for sending our way this Independent Budget Office analysis from May. Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to leave office by budgeting two years of zero percent salary increases for the next round of collective bargaining for NYC municipal employees, including teachers, for 2022-2024. The mayor is budgeting a "very generous 1%" for year three. Here it is right from the IBO report:

The current plan does not include any funding for potential salary increases for the city’s workforce in the first or second years of the next round of collective bargaining, only including a one percent increase for the third year. 

All of that federal and state aid coming in and nothing for the city's municipal workforce. That is how de Blasio plans to leave office. Don't let UFT President Michael Mulgrew fool you by saying the cupboard is bare when the UFT Contract expires in September of 2022. There is plenty of money available as we pointed out the other day in analyzing the final city budget for the 2022 fiscal year. 

For those wondering, the IBO did the math on what salary and benefit increases for city employees would cost the city:

Labor Costs. 

IBO estimates that the cost of a 1.0 percent wage increase and associated fringe costs in each year of the next contract period would require an additional $2.4 billion to be added to the financial plan, $884 million of which would be needed in 2022 and 2023. Any settlement that exceeds increases of 1.0 percent would cost the city that much more. In past years, most annual salary increases have exceeded 1.0 percent, but given the current economic uncertainty, the city may take a hard line on negotiating larger increases. Conversely, many unions will likely push for bigger increases for their membership, particularly in light of the sacrifices many of their members made during the pandemic.

I say the city better be thinking of setting aside around $8.8 billion for its workers just to keep up with expected inflation. 

AM NY AND LABOR PRESS COVER MUNICIPAL RETIREE PROTEST TO STOP MEDICARE PRIVATIZATION FOR NYC RETIREES

Outstanding coverage of yesterday's rally and march to preserve government-run Medicare for NYC government employee retirees at AM NY.

Retired NYC municipal union employees are wrestling with a change they say could negatively affect their quality of life.

Hundreds of retired city employees converged in the shadow of National Museum of the American Indian amidst a record-breaking heatwave on June 30 to decry a mass shift to their health care plans. The Municipal Labor Committee is set to alter the Medicare plans of 250,000 individuals to a for-profit plan: Medicare Advantage.

The scores of union members were joined by family, friends, and other supporters as they brandished picket signs and banners demanding a moratorium on any change to the city’s existing Medicare plan and the ability to remain in their current Medicare Health Plan without raised costs or loss of benefits. If switched over to this for-profit plan, the primarily elderly protesters say it will significantly increase out-of-pocket costs, making those who suffer from several ailments or are severely ill pay skyrocketing prices. Additionally, those in attendance feared that the switch could reduce their network of providers. 

“I’m here because I’m mad! We want our Medicare! Not privatization,” announced Julie, a DC 37 retiree who, along with the demonstrators in attendance, are fuming with the Municipal Labor Committee for attempting to transition to a privatized plan. Retirees like Julie shared that they labored all of their adult lives so that they could retire with peace of mind, something they say this transition would strip them of.

Further on:

“We are going to stop the sellout of our traditional Medicare Plan to private health insurance! For a quarter of a million municipal retirees, and for hundreds of thousands of future retirees, many of whom are here today, it is a matter of life and death and for big insurance it’s just the biggest lollipop in the candy store. It will be $600 million in healthcare savings for the city, and $600,000 in healthcare cuts for us. Our union leadership must not let the city wiggle out of its responsibility to administer our traditional Medicare benefits,” said Bennett Fischer, a retired UFT member, calling Medicare Advantage a privatization scheme. 

Read the entire story, please. The movement to stop privatized Medicare for NYC municipal retirees is gaining momentum. Please sign the petition if you have not yet done so and encourage friends to do the same. 

I chauffeured my wife Camille to the event. Camille was one of the speakers.

UFT's Michael Shulman and Gloria Brandman in front of UFT HQ at the Tuesday rally and march.

UPDATE:

Labor Press has a very in-depth, well-balanced piece on the rally that covers the UFT's side as well as the ralliers. Since the UFT and DC 37 are the two largest city unions and the Municipal Labor Committee has weighted voting, it is fairly accurate to call Medicare Advantage "Mulgrewcare."

Part of their discussion:

“A new supplemental plan would not be any more privatized than the current one,” the UFT said.

“That’s not really true,” Cross Union Retirees spokesperson Bennett Fischer told LaborPress the day after the rally. “The payments and the paperwork are all going through a private company.”

“I hope they’re right,” he continued, but he’s skeptical. While the MLC might have the leverage to negotiate a better deal than the usual private insurance, he said, “we haven’t seen the actual plan.”

There are three problems with Medicare Advantage plans, says Stu Eber, president of the Council of Municipal Retirees Organizations, and former president of the New York City Municipal Employees Association. First, “no Medicare Advantage that currently exists guarantees that your doctor will accept the plan.” Second, “no hospital is obligated to accept any Medicare Advantage group plan.” And third, “all Medicare Advantage group plans have gatekeepers,” which “sticks a clerk between you and your doctor.”

“If a new plan is put in place, it would provide access to all doctors and health services that take Medicare, which includes the doctors members are already using,” a UFT spokesperson told LaborPress.

“They say it will be just as good, but we know better,” says DC 37 Retirees Association President Ed Hysyk. “These for-profit companies make money by restrictions on health-care options.”

NYC FINAL BUDGET INCLUDES PLENTY OF SURPLUS FUNDS; NYC EDUCATION BUDGET GREATLY INCREASES BUT WILL THE MONEY GET TO THE SCHOOLS?

The UFT Contract will expire in September of 2022. When whoever is elected mayor claims that there is no money for educator and other city employee raises or expanded benefits, show them the final 2022 budget Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council agreed to yesterday. This is from the Mayor's News account on his Recovery Budget:

Building on Strong Reserves

Before New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, the City had maintained record levels of budget reserves that were needed in the midst of the pandemic induced financial crisis to help balance the budget, prevent layoffs, and avoid disastrous cuts to critical programs and services. In Adoption the administration partnered with the City Council to add $500 million to the City’s first-ever Rainy Day Fund, which now holds nearly $1 billion. With $2.8 billion in reserves added since June, total reserves in FY22 are now $5.1 billion, with $3.8 billion in the Retiree Health Benefits Trust, $993 million in the Rainy Day Fund, and $300 million in the General Reserve. At their highest, NYC reserves totaled $6.1 billion at the peak of the economic cycle in Fiscal Year 2020.

Call it reserves or surplus or whatever you want. Any way you refer to it, the city has plenty of money again as it did before the pandemic. Extra federal money won't expire until 2024 according to what I read in ChalkbeatNY. If we examine the allocation for the New York City school system, the poverty argument is going to be very difficult to make in the next three years. This is from the Chalkbeat piece on the city's education final budget:

Many budget figures weren’t immediately available. However, officials confirmed that the education department’s spending would increase by $2.4 billion year-over-year. That would put the total budget for the nation’s largest school system at $31.6 billion.

When starting the budget process in January, de Blasio initially shared a pessimistic outlook for schools if the federal government and state didn’t send more money to New York City. But now, the city is flush with nearly $7 billion in federal coronavirus relief dollars for schools and another $1.3 billion in state aid.

That adds up to an extra $8.3 billion in federal and state funding. A small portion of that additional money should make it to the classroom as schools will be funded at 100% fair student funding. Back to Chalkbeat:

More money for school budgets

The bulk of money schools get to run their day-to-day operations, such as teacher salaries and services for students with disabilities, comes from a formula known as fair student funding. This year, for the first time, every school will get 100% of the dollars they’re entitled to receive under the city’s fair student funding formula. About three-quarters of schools previously did not get their full allotment and will now see boosts.

“Now, they will have money to hire new teachers, art, music, gym, you name it,” said Brooklyn Councilman Mark Treyger, chair of the City Council’s education committee, during the budget press conference Wednesday.

It will cost the city a total $605 million next fiscal year, plus another $140 million to cover fringe benefits and pension costs, according to the Independent Budget Office.

That's not even $1 billion going directly to school budgets out of an additional $8.3 billion. What about the remainder? 

It isn't going to lower class sizes except for a tiny amount. Again to Chalkbeat:

The City Council proposed a $250 million investment to reduce class size. Instead, the city is planning an $18 million pilot program for smaller classes, though officials declined to share details about what it would involve. A department spokesperson said more details would be shared “in the coming days.”

Reducing class size has been a perennial issue. This year, as social distancing required small classes, many families and educators saw benefits of having fewer children in a classroom, and many believe that small classes are critical again next year since children will likely have a range of needs and could be at widely different levels academically. Advocates were hopeful that the billions in federal and state dollars could support such an initiative.

This final investment is a “piddling amount of money,” said Leonie Haimson, executive director of the advocacy organization Class Size Matters.

“I think this is a very sad end to a mediocre mayoral record when it comes to our schools,” Haimson said. “He could have easily funded that out of the $8 billion [in federal and state money].”

The city will also invest in hiring school social workers but in the end, only heaven above knows where the bulk of that extra $8.3 billion is going to end up. 

For example, Chalkbeat covered academic recovery:

‘Academic recovery’ — with few details

The final budget will include an “academic recovery” plan after children lost out on instructional time in the classroom: all students spent about a third of the 2019-2020 school year fully remote, and more than 60% finished out the following school year learning exclusively from home.

The mayor had proposed spending $500 million on helping students catch up by giving students diagnostic tests when they return this fall to measure their English and math skills. Students will then get extra support, such as high-dosage tutoring, to catch up on those subjects where they are below grade level.

But many questions remain unanswered, including what the diagnostic tests will be, what sort of extra support will be available for students, and who will provide tutoring. Aside from some details revealed during a City Council budget hearing in May, city officials have declined to offer more specifics. In response to questions from Chalkbeat, an education department spokesperson said more information would be shared “in the coming days.”

What does information is coming soon mean? Here is our brief very educated guess:

If any organization can squander billions of dollars in new federal and state money with little that has to do with actually educating students, it's the New York City Department of Education. Expect very little assistance in the actual classrooms.

The UFT is claiming victory in this budget. Below are the figures from the Union's article on the final budget. Add it all up and it comes to around $800 million in spending. That's less than 10% of the extra $8.3 billion the city is receiving for education from the federal and state governments. Is the UFT even asking questions about the remainder?

Among the education highlights are:

• $605 million to provide the long-sought 100% fair funding for schools in the neediest districts;
• $81.1 million for 650 Department of Education positions to ensure that every school has a social worker able to provide mental health support;
• $27 million for a citywide literacy curriculum to help K-2 students read at grade level;
• $20 million for Teacher’s Choice;
• $18 million for a class-size reduction program;
• $14 million for community schools, including $5 million to add 10 new schools;
• $6 million to revitalize the Public School Athletic League in every high school;
• $5 million for mental health services, which will include screening for all students;
• $3.6 million for the UFT Teacher Center;
• $3 million for United Community Schools;
• $2.8 million for an LGBTQ inclusive curriculum;
• $2.4 million for Trans-Equity initiatives;
• $1.5 million for the Positive Learning Collaborative;
• $200,000 for BRAVE, the UFT anti-bullying program;
• $168,800 for Dial-A-Teacher.

MLC SECRETARY ON EMBLEM HEALTH BOARD OF DIRECTORS; RALLY AND MARCH TO CITY HALL TODAY (WEDNESDAY) AT NOON

We learn from EdNotes that the Secretary of the Municipal Labor Committee, Ray Floyd (Teamsters Local 237), also sits as one of the Board of Directors for Emblem Health. Emblem Health just happens to be one of the finalists trying to get a lucrative contract for a Medicare Advantage plan (privatized Medicare) for 240,000 NYC municipal employee retirees.

From Norm Scott:

Holy shit! The Secretary of the MLC is on the board of Emblem Health. I've always been suspicious of the unions' slavish devotion to private insurance. Do we think the insurance companies don't lobby our union leaders? The explanation offered for why unions want to stick with privatized plans:

“For a lot of these MLC unions, the one tangible thing that they provide, in addition to wages, are health care benefits, and particularly the benefits that come out of their welfare funds,” said one New York City union representative, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “They want health care benefits associated with union leadership.”

The reasons go deeper than this. In the beginning, the city gave unions control over their health plans, with a bureaucracy and a patronage system. Thus, the UFT Health and Welfare fund, which is not paid by union dues but by the city, thus giving union leaders a windfall of sort to play around with. The calls for moving the entire process under public management threatens both the insurance companies adn their clients, the union leaderships.

I guess the MLC could have someone on the Board of Directors at Emblem since most city workers are covered by Emblem (GHI-HIP) but when the MLC is negotiating to move 240,000 retirees out of the federally run Medicare program into a private plan, it looks to me like a conflict of interest to sit on both sides.

If privatizing Medicare bothers you and it should, come on out to a rally and march at noon today. It will start at 1 Bowling Green, Whitehall Street/South Ferry. from the Museum of the American Indian and go past the UFT on the way to City Hall. My wife Camille is scheduled to be one of the speakers when the marchers get to UFT HQ at 52 Broadway.

Here is an email from the Retiree Chapter of the Professional Staff Congress (CUNY teachers) sent out earlier yesterday promoting the rally and march.

RETIREES SAY DON’T PRIVATIZE OUR MEDICARE!  JOIN THEM AT A CROSS UNION RALLY AND MARCH, WEDNESDAY JUNE 30TH. 

The Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) and the NYC Office of Labor Relations (OLR) are about to decide whether to move all city retirees, including CUNY retirees, from traditional Medicare with supplemental city insurance to administration by a for-profit, privatized Medicare Advantage plan. This may have huge implications for present and future retirees. 

Retirees have asked for full disclosure of the proposed changes and an opportunity to discuss and debate the controversies around Medicare Advantage plans.  As they age, healthcare becomes a life and death issue for our older members.  Hence the PSC retiree chapter at its April 5th meeting called for a moratorium on the MLC/OLR negotiations. 

At its April 15th meeting, by unanimous vote, the PSC Delegate Assembly supported the chapter’s call for a moratorium.  

June 30 March and Rally. Now the PSC retirees are asking all unionists, present and future retirees, to join them and retirees from across the municipal workforce for a rally at Battery Park and march to City Hall on Wednesday, June 30, 12 noon organized by Cross Union Retirees.  Meet at the steps of the Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, Whitehall Street/South Ferry. Bring signs, banners, songs and your energy. Then march to City Hall with stops at key city and union offices in lower Manhattan. Retirees want to make this rally and march as big and robust as possible. Join them! 

And sign the petition.  PSC retirees have been working with the Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations (COMRO) on mobilizing municipal retirees in response to the proposed move to Medicare Advantage. COMRO has an online petition addressed to the mayor and the MLC entitled “Preserve Medicare Part B for NYC Retirees.” As of 6/25, it had over 21,000 signatures. The more signatures gathered, the stronger the impact. Actives ("retirees in training") as well as retirees need to endorse this petition. To view the petition and add your name, click here.

If you come out for the rally, bring lots of water as it is hot and you just may get to hear my wife Camille as one of the UFT speakers.

MAYORAL ELECTION RESULTS RELEASED AND RETRACTED; AT LEAST THERE IS SOME TRANSPARENCY IN THE PROCESS UNLIKE IN UFT ELECTIONS; AVIATION HIGH SCHOOL ELECTS IBETH MEJIA CHAPTER LEADER

Rank Choice Voting is off to a rocky start in NYC. 135,000 test ballots mixed in with the results. 

This is from the Board of Elections Twitter:

There is no truth to the rumor that the UFT and American Arbitration Association were involved in the counting. BOE released the results and then watched as the campaigns noticed there were more votes released today than on election night but the absentee ballots have not even been looked at. BOE then admitted their mistake and they will attempt to fix it. This system  does need to be investigated and changed. The UFT's system of elections is even worse.

The UFT hires a company called the American Arbitration Association to count votes. The AAA tabulates ballots in UFT general elections and this year they were used for all of the chapter elections. The UFT releases the results of these elections when they damn well please. There is no transparency in the process for school-based chapter elections. Candidates have no access to the actual ballots if they exist at all and have to just trust the results are honest. 

The delay at Aviation High School in releasing the chapter leader election results caused a mini-chapter rebellion last week. The election that was postponed was finally held last Thursday, June 25 and AAA told one of the candidates, our friend from both Jamaica HS and Middle College Ibeth Mejia, that the ballots were already counted when she called on Friday morning looking for the results. AAA said she needed to ask the UFT for the results.

Ibeth got in touch with election queen Yasmin Colon and Borough Rep Amy Arundell. The UFT's position was that they had to "certify" the results. What the hell does that mean? They sat on the results for hours. Then, ten people from Aviation emailed UFT officials demanding the numbers and within an hour they were released. Other schools waited for two days to hear what happened in their chapter elections as did Aviation in their delegate election. This is ridiculous. When the UFT knows, the candidates should know.

Before 2016, opposition people went to UFT vote counts and as the votes were counted by the AAA, AAA told both the Unity people (Michael Mulgrew and Randi Weingarten's political party) and the opposition representatives the numbers as soon as each division was tabulated. Nobody questioned it. Since 2016, AAA now gives the results to the Unity-UFT folks and they hold them for as long as they like. It used to take less than a day to have over 95% of the votes counted and now it takes days. It took almost a week for them to announce the Retired Teachers Chapter election numbers. This has got to stop. When they know anything, we should know at the same time as should our members.

In the end, Ibeth Mejia won the chapter leader election at Aviation with 55% of the vote! She takes office on Wednesday but she is already working hard on behalf of her members. Ibeth is the first ever woman chapter leader at Aviation HS. Congratulations! 

Along with her friend Luli Rodriguez, they welcomed me and made me feel at home when I landed at Middle College in 2014 as an ATR. They helped turn what was an often depressing time as an ATR into one where I eventually landed a provisional and finally a regular position. Ibeth, Luli, and our friend Virginia ran my successful campaign for delegate at MCHS in 2015 when I was still basically an ATR and had no guarantee I would return to serve out the term. Ibeth was also a strong supporter back at Jamaica High School. Luli was also elected this year as a delegate at Heritage High School. Congratulations!

ARE WE JUST MOVING ON FROM COVID COMPLETELY IN NYC SCHOOLS IN THE FALL?

This is from CNBC:

Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday that the highly permeable Delta COVID variant, first discovered in India, could pose a challenge to US schools given the low vaccination rates among children.

“I think the reality is that children are more likely to become vectors of these new forms,” ​​the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner said on “Squawk Box.”

It’s only been a little over a month since the FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for use in children ages 12 to 15. Moderna, also the two-shot diet, asked the FDA to expand its emergency use authorization to cover teens ages 12 to 17. Pfizer’s EUA initially covers ages 16 and over, while Moderna’s covers ages 18 and over.

“Old beliefs about babies and toddlers” [not] Driving community spread was based on the original strain of this virus,” he said. “With these newer, more infectious forms, I think we’re going to see that children and schools become the focal points of the spread.”

Are the Department of Education and the UFT preparing for this? What we mostly heard from UFT President Michael Mulgrew at the June Delegate Assembly is that we have reached "herd immunity." I haven't seen that this is a general scientific consensus.

I know many here and throughout the country are beyond COVID as "so 2020" but we need to know what the parameters for reopening schools in the fall will be so schools can plan. Will there be social distancing? Will there be a mask mandate? Will there be any vaccine mandates if and when the vaccines are cleared for regular authorization?

Will remote parents, the majority in NYC, trust the DOE enough to come back to live instruction? Also, if the Delta variant or another one is spreading in the fall, it will be kids mostly impacted according to Gotlieb as children under 12 still cannot be vaccinated. (I understand that Gotlieb is on the Board of Pfizer.)

One of my worries is that if another COVID wave comes, since most are done with COVID, it could get out of control before we do anything. It could quickly become March 2020 part 2. Lack of trust in government from all sides of the political spectrum has had and could again have real-world consequences.

RETIREE ADVOCATE PROMOTES JUNE 30 RALLY TO STOP MEDICARE PRIVATIZATION FOR NYC MUNICIPAL RETIREES

Just say no to privatized "Mulgrewcare" for NYC municipal employee retirees!

2 AIR PURIFIERS COMING TO ALL NYC CLASSROOMS

This is from SI LIVE:

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Every New York City public school classroom will have two air purifiers by the start of the 2021-2022 school year, according to a recent report by Chalkbeat.

Chalkbeat reported that the city Department of Education (DOE) has already distributed 100,000 air purifiers to schools, and are now working to ensure each of the city’s 56,000 classrooms have two air purifiers before schools reopen to all students for in-person learning in the fall.

They are high-efficiency particulate air filters, or HEPA filters, that lower the risk of exposure to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The pledge to ensure every classroom has at least two air purifiers confirms what Kevin Moran, chief operating officer for school operations, told Staten Island families during an information session last month.

This upcoming year, the DOE is going one step further, he said, by bringing a second round of air purifiers into the mix to make sure there are multiple units in each classroom. The city will also put MERV-13 air filters on air conditioning units and window units for use during the summer.

I saw teachers on Twitter talking about having difficulty adding anything new due to the electrical limitations in their classrooms  and others saying this was COVID theatre more than anything else. Otherwise, teachers seem okay with the air purifiers as a step forward.

Happy last day of school. I recall one teacher at Jamaica High Schoo who used to sing "It's the most wonderful time of the year" on the last day every year.

UFT NOT PUTTING A SECOND RANK CHOICE SELECTION FOR MAYOR LOOKS LIKE A MISTAKE

In case you missed the NYC primary mayoral election first choice results, here is a good summary from City and State:

After nearly eight years with Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City’s Democrats are choosing a new leader in Tuesday’s primary election. The winner will be highly favored to win the general election in November and to inherit a city that’s likely to still be recovering from a historic pandemic that affected just about everything in the mayor’s purview, from crime rates to housing.

In line with recent polling, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams maintains a strong early lead having received the majority of first-choice votes. Close behind are Maya Wiley, former counsel to de Blasio, and former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. The fourth-best performing candidate, Andrew Yang, has already conceded the race, saying, “I am not going to be the next mayor of New York City, based upon the numbers that have come in tonight.” That leaves the remaining candidates with little chance of success, even with ranked-choice voting.

On the Republican side, Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, is the projected winner and candidate to face in the general election, beating out businessman Fernando Mateo.

The UFT's endorsed candidate Scott Stringer is in fifth place. The UFT errored, not so much by endorsing Stringer, but by not picking a number two choice and maybe even a third pick in the new ranked-choice voting system.  I am not Monday morning quarterbacking here. 

Back on June 11, this blog figured Scott Stringer had a diminished chance of winning but that Maya Wiley was moving up and she was with us on certain important educational priorities including lowering class sizes. This is part of what we stated in our post on the Democratic primary for mayor:

I have no idea why the UFT isn't pushing for a second endorsement now with Stringer so low in the polls. The left seems to be consolidating around Wiley. The AOC endorsement certainly gave her a big push.

The UFT didn't do anything much beyond starting a PAC and in my view producing some highly ineffective tv commercials for Stringer and then softly telling members not to rank Andrew Yang or Eric Adams. 

Shouldn't the UFT have had a major public discussion at the Delegate Assembly about endorsing a second choice? We might have been able to assist Wiley. The odds are against Wiley making up 9 percentage points now with absentee ballots and lower choices to catch Eric Adams but it is not impossible. No absentee ballots have been counted yet and many are still coming in. One never knows what will happen when the absentee ballots are added in and all of the second choice, third choice, fourth choice, and fifth choice votes are counted as candidates like Stringer are eliminated. 

Norm adds to the story with his election analysis on EdNotes. His lead:

Mulgrew told people not to vote for Adams. But in essence he may have helped Adams get elected. Mulgrew and the UFT could have taken advantage of RCV  --- but the UFT is center/right Democratic Party and Wiley was too far out -- they won't say it but would rather have Adams than Wiley - better to have more charters? Was it an error in judgment or a calculated political decision? No one outside the black box of narrow UFT decision making knows.

This piece from Huff Post may help sort out the odds:

In the ranked-choice voting system that New York City voters adopted in a  2019 referendum, voters have the chance to submit their top five choices for a municipal office.

The votes are then counted in five rounds. In each round, the worst-performing candidate is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters are redistributed to those voters’ next-ranked choice. The winning candidate is the first person to reach a majority of votes through this multi-round elimination system.

It is highly unusual for a candidate to overcome a deficit in first-choice votes to win in subsequent rounds ― let alone a lead as large as the one Adams’ currently holds over Wiley. 

Since 2004, just  15 of 398 ranked-choice voting elections with single-candidate winners have resulted in a candidate who trailed in first-choice votes winning the election, according to data assembled by FairVote, a nonprofit that promotes the ranked-choice voting system.

And as  FiveThirtyEight notes, just three of those 15 come-from-behind candidates overcame first-round deficits of more than 6.2 percentage points.

But there are a few factors that might increase the likelihood of an upset in this contest.

First, there are still many first-choice votes that have yet to be counted. New York City’s election rules allow for absentee ballots to be submitted  up to a week after Election Day. Voters have until July 9 to “cure” ― or correct ― any mistakes that would lead their absentee ballot to be disqualified and thrown out.

Thus far, 207,500 Democrats in the city have requested absentee ballots and 86,920 of those voters have returned their completed absentee ballots. 

The city’s Board of Elections is not expected to announce an official winner in the race until the week of July 12.

In addition, there are some political dynamics at play that might make Wiley and former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who received 19.5% of the in-person vote and is currently in third place, more competitive in subsequent rounds.

Further down:

In a race where a number of candidates flamed out ― or lashed out ― in embarrassing ways, Wiley steered clear of major mistakes and controversies.

Wiley’s allies believe that her respectful campaigning style maximized her appeal with upscale white liberals, Black voters and staunch progressives.

As a result, they believe, she is likely to be the second-choice favorite of voters whose first-choice candidates get eliminated ― including left-wing former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales and NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer. (Stringer got 5% of the in-person, first-choice vote; Morales received 2.8%.)

But they go onto say that Adams or Garcia are more likely to be the runner-up choice for Yang supporters. 

It looks like an Adams-Curtis Sliwa race in the fall. Do you think the UFT stays out?

MULGREW ADMITS HE WAS WRONG ABOUT CONTRACT END DATE AND STILL CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY DOE GETS TO VIOLATE EVALUATION LAW

We have answers from Arthur Goldstein's Monday night Executive Board Report to questions we asked in our post from last weekend. We wondered why Mulgrew repeatedly told Delegates the UFT Contract was up in November when it does not expire until September 13, 2022. His answer to the Executive Board via Arthur:

Contract ends next September, not this year. Was mistaken at DA. We want to use entire year to start this. Not sure if de Blasio is even interested. If there is opportunity, we will take it.

That admission that he was mistaken at the DA is a UFT milestone. I can't recall ever hearing a UFT President admitting to an error unless it was for something done years before. That said,  it still is scary that Mulgrew repeatedly misstated the approximate end date of the UFT Contract at the DA and none of his associates on the call would correct him. That says something. Many of you correct me when you think I get something wrong. 

On teacher evaluations, again from Mulgrew via Arthur:

Bad principals--DOE decided to do APPR. Above 95% HE or E before MOSL even kicks in. We will go after anyone who doesn't do this correctly. 

5% of 80,000 teachers is 4,000 UFT members. As long as DOE violates the law correctly, the UFT is okay with it. We copied the summary of the state law waiving evaluations right from the NY Senate webpage for the bill:

provides that no school district shall complete an annual professional performance review for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school year.

Why didn't the Legislature write that school districts shall have the option to complete an annual professional performance review for 2020-2021 if that was their intent? 

I am not a lawyer but I don't understand how the State Education Department and DOE get to violate a law that does not seem at all ambiguous.  Thousands of teachers can still be put in harm's way based on evaluation in a pandemic and Michael Mulgrew still can't explain how the SED and DOE can just unilaterally ignore what looks to this layman like clear language. All the UFT President can say is they will go after anyone who doesn't do it correctly.

We will keep trying to make our readers aware of what's going on but we need you to spread the word.

Thanks.

UNITY WINS RETIRED TEACHERS CHAPTER ELECTION BUT SUPPORT FINALLY SLIPS

After waiting for decades for the opposition to Unity Caucus to finally break through, there is a significant drop in support for the Unity Caucus in this spring's Retired Teachers Chapter election. Retirees make up Unity's strongest base of support and as such they handicap any opposition group that wants to challenge Unity, Michael Mulgrew's political party. This invitation only caucus that has run the UFT since the early 1960s demands that followers support caucus decisions in public and union forums. EdNotes is reporting tonight that the opposition to Unity, the Retiree Advocate, has received 30% of the vote in this spring's election. 

That may not seem like much but if we look at the results from the most recent citywide UFT election, in 2019 Unity received 89% of the vote and the three opposition groups could only muster a combined 11%. I am no math expert but for opposition to go from 11% to 30% in just two years is a significant gain.

From 2004 through 2016, Unity's share in general UFT elections ranged from 84-88% among retirees. Unity's 89% in 2019 with a split opposition was a record since 2001. The Retiree Advocate normally gets slightly more than what they receive in citywide elections in the Retired Teacher Chapter election but not almost three times as high a percentage. If this is a preview for the next general UFT election, the opposition retiree vote should increase. This is why the opposition groups need to unite and not be divided as they were in 2019.

Retirees on Medicare potentially being forced to go from Medicare Part A and B (public plan) to Medicare Part C (privatized plan) is not sitting well with many UFT and other city worker retirees. Many don't want Mulgrewcare. This only became an issue toward the end of the campaign for chapter elections. Next year, in all likelihood it is going to be a major issue.

The Retiree Advocate intends to be heard as part of a city worker retiree rally and march in downtown Manhattan on June 30.

Norm Scott explains how the rally and healthcare privatization are related to the election:

Note how Mulgrew keeps harping on our (RA's) role in pushing back against privatizing that we are "politicizing" the issue. After all, who really cares about taking away our medicare? We just want to hassle Mulgrew.

With the whole world having moved away from privatized health care, Mulgrew acts like a Republican and moves us away from public health care. Sure it's politics -- the UFT's weak center Dem politics.

ARE THERE ANY REASONABLE, RESPONSIBLE, DECENT PEOPLE LEFT IN UFT LEADERSHIP?

I often shake my head at UFT actions and inactions but the last few days I am at the point of asking if everyone down at UFT Headquarters has lost all sense of rational thought. 

NYSUT reported that the bill to waive teacher and principal evaluations for the 2020-2021 school year passed unanimously in both the Assembly and Senate. The governor then signed it. We covered this bill on June 9. The language is pretty clear:

§ 3. Section 3012-d of the education law is amended by  adding  a  new subdivision 17 to read as follows:

 17.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, FOR THE TWO THOUSAND TWENTY--TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE SCHOOL YEAR, NO SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL  COMPLETE  AN  ANNUAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATION REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR ANY CLASSROOM TEACHER OR BUILDING PRINCIPAL AND STATE FUNDING SHALL NOT BE WITHHELD FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR NOT COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION.

Evaluations are over for this year so observations from supervisors such as Namita Dwarka at Bryant HS who do not support teachers are gone, right?

Well, no because it looks like the UFT is allowing the DOE to get a waiver from the law that waives teacher evaluations without public objection. This is what President Michael Mulgrew said about evaluations according to our notes at the UFT Delegate Assembly on Wednesday:

APPR. School districts do not have to do APPR but can do it. City plugging in MOSLs. People were not working under conditions they were hired under. Breathe deep and relax. If the city tries to use it, we will deal with it. SED guidance is out.

What am I missing? The law's language again:

...NO SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL  COMPLETE  AN  ANNUAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATION REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR ANY CLASSROOM TEACHER OR BUILDING PRINCIPAL..

The part about not losing state funding is if a district does not comply with Section 3012-d, not the waiver subdivision. What union would not cry foul if a district tried to get a waiver from the evaluation waiver? I say that as a union activist and not a lawyer. I totally cannot comprehend why the UFT is not even protesting, but rather is supporting an evaluation system that allows principals to be abusive, even during a pandemic.

Speaking of head-scratching moments, a union president needs to have extensive knowledge of many areas in order to do the job right. The UFT President falls short in so many categories (see one example above) but one would think he should know off the top of his head when the UFT Contract expires. 

Why did Mulgrew repeatedly say at the Delegate Assembly on Wednesday that the Contract expires in November. He sounded as though he is ready to put a negotiating committee together with some urgency. A quick check will show Mulgrew's date for the expiration of the Contract is off by almost a year. The UFT Contract expires on September 13, 2022. Why didn't one of the other officials on the call correct him? If there are going to be negotiations for an early contract before Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves office in January, shouldn't we be discussing that and not making up a date for the end of the Contract that is totally false? 

Either Mulgrew doesn't know the end date of a collective bargaining agreement he negotiated and signed off on which just shows incompetence or something is going on behind the scenes to possibly negotiate an early new one without any discussion with elected Delegates. If something is going on with negotiations, it just gives more evidence of the UFT leadership's autocratic style of union governance.

We saw more evidence of tyrannical leadership during the motion period on Wednesday at the DA when Delegate Daniel Alicea was mysteriously dropped from the DA phone call right before he was supposed to speak and he was not allowed back to get the floor to present his motion. This resolution concerned preserving retiree health benefits in the federal (public) Medicare Part A and B program and not switching Medicare retirees into a Medicare Advantage (privatized) plan. It is very controversial and it is costing the UFT leadership some support within its strongest backers: the retirees.

The UFT leadership does not know how to react when confronted by a real threat but instead just reverts to acting like a petty dictatorial regime. Please spread the word and let's vote them out. That is the best hope for a better tomorrow for NYC teachers.

BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL CHAPTER LEADER GEORGIA LIGNOU GUEST BLOGS ON ABUSIVE PRINCIPALS

Schools with abusive principals cannot be the friendly and healthy environment students need.

In a school ruled by fear, the priority is not the students, it is always the principal. What dominates the mind of the teachers is what the principal will see, what the principal will think, and what the principal will say. When the Principal, surrounded by the AP’s, patrols the hallways as a lord would a fiefdom, the teachers who hear the walkie talkies before the administration turns the corner, change their demeanor, and adjust their lesson, because at that moment, the priority is not the students, it is the principal.

In a school ruled by fear, classroom visits by the administration become traumatizing experiences for the teachers and for the students. Students know the teachers are nervous, awkward, and just not themselves. What message does this send to students? What examples do we become for them? What adulthood do we model? What abuse do we teach them to tolerate?

In a school ruled by fear, new ideas do not blossom. The frames within which new ideas can exist have been limited and predetermined. So, what is discussed and attempted is only to reaffirm preexisting notions. Processes like Professional Development and inquiry often become tedious Orwellian exercises in futility, as participants keep repeating and searching for what they are expected to find. The use of the correct bureaucratic jargon makes the outcome sound impressive, but this does not mean that it has any positive impact on the students.

In a school ruled by fear, teachers design their lessons according to what the principal demands. The technicalities of the lesson are valued more than the essence. Teachers hesitate to use direct instruction and explain what students do not understand because the lesson will be deemed teacher- centered. They are afraid to redirect the lesson based on unanticipated student response because they will deviate from the carefully crafted lesson plan. Even when they see a deficit in content knowledge, they will skip it and move on to the student-to-student discussion part, because without that type of discussion, no lesson can ever be rated effective. The instructional expectation of the school focuses on skills across all levels and subject areas, so even the most basic lack of content knowledge can go unnoticed. Teachers will use the protocols and they will carefully choreograph their lessons, always keeping in mind not what they think is best for their students, but what they know the principal wants to see.

In a school ruled by fear, controlling the process of teaching is an administrative priority. The administration does not want to accept diverse ways of teaching even if there is clear evidence that diverse approaches produce results. The belief that certain strategies must work interferes with the ability to see that other strategies can work. A dogmatic approach to instruction does not allow the school to do honest evaluation of their own data. They are more willing to accept and to reference unspecified studies than to evaluate the results of the student population they serve. In this environment, the Danielson Rubric is a tool of conformity and uniformity. By design, the Danielson is artificial and subjective, as it focuses on random snippets of teacher practice, and it fails to recognize and account for the most important part of teaching: the Deeper relationship teachers develop with their students. However, in the hands of an abusive and unsupervised administration, the Danielson can be absurd, retaliatory, and dangerous. The Danielson framework can destroy careers and harm students because when the Danielson framework is the priority, the students are not. In a school ruled by fear, teachers plan with the administration as their audience, not the students we are called to serve.

In a school ruled by fear, there are no democratic processes. All the mechanisms put in place after years of negotiations between the DOE and the UFT are obsolete. Department Meetings, Faculty Meetings, the School Leadership Team Meetings, the PD Committee Meetings, the Consultation Meetings take place, but they do not give birth to ideas. Even the Student Government is closely monitored. Teachers barely talk and when they do, they do not question the basic premises of the principal’s design. If anybody dares to disagree, the discussion is quickly refocused, and the person is chastised or dismissed, while in remote meetings, the chat is disabled. Instead of modeling for students what democracy and free speech look like, how messy but how fruitful and creative it can be, we are teaching them to accept the pretense of democracy, participating in meetings that always end in total agreement. If the emperor has no clothes, one wonders, would anybody dare say?

In a school ruled by fear, the agency and the authority of teachers are carefully undermined. Students are questioned about their teachers, and simple misunderstandings become cases of misconduct. The school is divided, as some teachers and some students are allowed to walk in and out of the principal’s office at will, while others must try their luck in setting an appointment through the secretary. Seniority and merit do not factor in as certain people are kept away from activities and positions. Not everybody is evaluated with the same scrutiny. Teachers and even students become informants, hoping for something in return. Favoritism and retaliation keep the school deeply divided. The presence of teachers sometimes is not acknowledged, not even with a simple greeting or a smile. In this environment, students come to understand the rewards of loyalty, not the fairness of merit or the blessings of equality.

In a school ruled by fear, good educators many times go unappreciated. What makes an educator fit for the school is loyalty and compliance. There is a high turnover as many good educators leave, and at times they are even encouraged to leave. Students are left looking for their teachers from one year to the other, and courses are taught out of license. At the end it is that fear that also decides how students get promoted undermining and bypassing academic standards and expectations.

In a school ruled by fear, Assistant Principals are not allowed to make independent decisions. They are expected to reiterate and put in effect the principal’s vision. Their judgment in evaluating the teachers is undercut and undermined by the principal who has the final review of the rating reports and asks for changes having not been present during the observation. The personal preferences of the principal will dictate how AP’s program their teachers, sometimes overlooking that effective programming can tap into the strengths of the teachers and bring better results for the students and the school.

In a school ruled by fear, interactions with the principal make people nervous. Though we are careful to teach the students the evils of bullying, we do not consider the possibility that they notice their teachers being bullied every day.

The rules of human contact are simple. Any relationship that involves fear is abusive. Anybody who knowingly instills fear in others who might be in weaker positions and capitalizes on that fear, is a bully. In a healthy work environment, fear has no place and when fear is detected, steps are taken to dispel it.

A school ruled by fear cannot possibly be a healthy place for children. Fearful and victimized teachers cannot provide the social and emotional support students need and deserve. A supportive environment must be based on trust and empathy for everybody. A school must be a place where people walk in with a smile. Students need to be taught by teachers who are happy and confident, not intimidated.

Our students are traumatized by a pandemic that turned their lives upside down. They are dealing with loss, fear, and insecurity and they need strong adults to help them regain their confidence. They need their teachers to be their heroes.

Abusive Principals have no place in the school system, yet they are in place, and they are tolerated, as anybody who recognizes the above description knows well. It is not the norm as many schools have very reasonable principals, but the unwillingness of the DOE to even address the problem when the evidence is loud and clear, makes it systemic. I do not know if allowing abusive principals to operate as they do is by design or a result of negligence. It does not matter. The point is that it is hurting our students and it must stop.

Now as we are trying to re-envision our schools emerging from the pandemic, the DOE and the UFT must come together to put systems in place to identify and deal with administrative abuse. The Danielson rubric must also be revisited because it prohibits the flexibility necessary to meet the academic and the social and emotional needs of the students. Let the teachers teach. We all know the craft of teaching; it is the art that we foster.

Georgia Lignou Bryant HS, UFT Chapter Leader