Open Left

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ASCD SmartBrief

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by: jeffbinnc @ Mon Mar 22, 2010 at 12:23:55 PM CDT

I think that has always been the plan.

If you go back to the "local control" way back in late sixties in NYC, that battle was mostly geared to breaking the Teachers' union. At this point, the needs of the large corporations can be met, without educating poorer, minority, middle-class kides...so their demand is to gut public education and cut costs.

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by: VLaszlo @ Mon Mar 22, 2010 at 13:07:09 PM CDT

Another way to look at it:

True, breaking the teachers unions is a long sought after goal of the right wing and business community. However, no where in the article is there any indication that students are now getting educated at less cost as a result of these firings. It's most likely that the cost of educating kids is getting shifted from the traditional public school system, with union-represented teachers, to charter schools that are run by outside management groups and that employ non-union staff. The reason to break teaches unions isn't to cut costs. It's to shift costs from the public sector to the private sector where teachers will undoubtedly get paid less but management will get paid more and scools can show a profit to investors.

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by: jeffbinnc @ Mon Mar 22, 2010 at 13:25:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Just as I suspected...

The mass layoffs are a direct result of Governor David Patterson's successful effort to lift the caps on charter schools in order to qualify for Race to the Top Funds. This allowed rightwing foundations and billionaires on Wall St. to pour, according to this report, "tens of millions of dollars" into the charter school movement in the Albany region." (Oh, and it's just coincidental that these deep-pocketed donors also gave money to Patterson's election fund.)

The main charter recipient was the Bright Choice chain of charter schools, whose president, according to EdWise, is an outspoken rightwing advocate and foe of teachers unions.

Other recipients, again according to EdWise, are "for profit charter management firms Victory Schools and National Heritage Academies"

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by: jeffbinnc @ Mon Mar 22, 2010 at 14:01:19 PM CDT