Perdido Street School

Alan Chartock in the Daily Freeman:

Cuomo is known and respected up to now as a take-no-prisoners tough guy, but his political antennae seem corrupted. His picking on the teachers in New York state is dumber than dumb. It appears that he fell in with a crowd of rich potential funders who are always yelling about “educational reform.” Maybe he wanted their money and he became a fierce charter school advocate and then adopted positions which then threatened the hell out of the teachers who are underpaid and overworked. Their tenure is one of the few things they do have going for them, and however Cuomo meant it, the teachers saw him as looking to evaluate them with an eye toward firing them. These are usually people who want nothing to do with Albany politics, but they sure got a wakeup call. I talk to them all the time and they are angrier than I have ever seen them.

Zephyr Teachout has an excellent idea how teachers can take that anger and do something productive with it:

Liberal activist Zephyr Teachout is touring New York starting tonight in Syracuse to try to recruit teachers and women to run for public office in New York.


Teachout, the Fordham Law School professor who ran against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary last year, said the education policy battles at the state Capitol should spur teachers and parents to run for political office so their voice can be better heard.

“The focus is getting more people into the political process, and the focus here is on teachers and women,” Teachout said in an interview with Gannett’s Albany Bureau. “If there’s a central thrust, it’s educators and parents.”

Teachout, who lives in Manhattan, is partnering with the union-backed Working Families Party and the New York State United Teachers union on the effort.

She said the massive testing opt-out movement in New York in April, as well as protests to new teacher evaluations show that education advocates can play an increasingly important role in politics — on the state and local levels.

“I don’t think most people go into teaching in order to run for office, but they didn’t go into teaching to protest either,” Teachout said. “And they’ve become this incredible, powerful political force, and my hope is to engage some of those teachers who are political and hopefully get them elected and have more formal political power.”

Now electing teachers to political office isn't guaranteed to make politics more amenable to public education teachers - after all, former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert (now under indictment for making illegal payments to someone he allegedly molested back in the 70's) and Independent Democratic Caucus head Jeff Klein are both former teachers and neither are what I would term "teacher- or public education-friendly" in their political views.

But in general, having teachers run for political office is a terrific idea and certainly there are many teacher leaders out there who would make excellent candidates.

The same goes for parent activists in the opt-out movement.

Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu, both professors, ran in 2014 for governor and lieutenant governor respectively and put in very respectable showings.

Had Teachout gotten the Working Families Party ballot line for the general election, she would have done some serious damage to Andrew Cuomo, taking him well under the 50% line in his race against GOP candidate Rob Astorino, but even in the Democratic primary she did serious damage, winning 23 counties to Cuomo's 29.

Cuomo's campaign was so worried that Tim Wu had momentum against Kathy Hochul that they called out Randi Weingarten and Bill de Blasio to robocall for her, turning the contest toward Hochul for good.

Nonetheless, the Teachout/Wu campaigns of 2014 served notice that many Dems were not happy with Andrew Cuomo and his policies and they can serve as models for educator and parent campaigns going forward.

This isn't a surprise - IDC head/traitor Jeff Klein is carrying water for his charter school donors:

ALBANY — The head of a breakaway group of five Senate Democrats wants to extend by five years the law authorizing mayoral control over the New York City school system, with some key changes, the Daily News has learned.

"I believe in mayoral control," Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) told The News. "Something as important as education, the mayor should be the deciding factor. But I think this plan is a way to make some changes that ensures mayoral control continues."

Perhaps the most controversial proposal would require the mayor for the first time to appoint a parent of a charter school student to the advisory Panel for Educational Policy.

Under the current law, which expires next month, the mayor has eight appointees to the 13-member panel — at least two of which are required to be parents with children in a New York City public school.

Klein says requiring another appointee to be a charter school parent — a move sure to be opposed by Mayor de Blasio and some of his fellow legislative Democrats — would be an acknowledgment of the movement's place in the city's education fabric.

"This will ensure that the concerns of this growing population of school children will be heard at the PEP," a memo outlining Klein's proposed legislation says.

I suspect any extension of mayoral control will be tied to an increase in the charter cap as well.

This is assuming anything gets done in Albany in the next six weeks.

With Senate Majority Leader Skelos yet to step down, with the fight still on to see who replaces him and with the feds still wiretapping a whole swath of Albany, nothing's a done deal these days.

Not to mention that mobbed-up Jeff Klein himself could get carted away by the feds.

The entire Democratic Party brain trust, such as it is, is on Governor Cuomo's "trade mission" to Cuba, such as it is:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that leaders from business and higher education will be joining New York’s trade mission to Cuba – the first Governor-led state trade mission to Cuba since President Obama began the process to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The trade mission delegation will depart on April 20, 2015.

...

In addition to the below industry leaders, the delegation is joined by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader and Coalition Co-Leader Jeffrey Klein.

The Governor’s trade mission includes representatives from a variety of industries, including air travel, health care, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, financial services, agriculture and higher education.

Now if I remember correctly, Stewart-Cousins wasn't included in budget negotiations because, as the ranking member of the minority party in the State Senate, Cuomo felt she wasn't important enough to be there.

The decision to exclude Stewart-Cousins from budget negotiations brought condemnation from Democratic activists and politicians, with one going so far as to say:

“We have to make sure that Gov. Cuomo understands that we will not be duped. We will not be hoodwinked. We will not be put in the back.”

Ah, but now that Cuomo needs as much cover as he can get for this ridiculous "trade mission" to Cuba, he's happy to invite Stewart-Cousins on the trip and she is happy to oblige him.

She says she's going so she can talk to him on the plane about her conference's legislative priorities.

And I'm sure he'll listen, just as soon as he and the representatives from a variety of industries get finished carving up the cake shaped like Cuba.

You know, like this:

 

What are the chances the next time Stewart-Cousins needs something from Cuomo, like being a part of the budget negotiations even though she's Senate Minority Leader, he'll be happy to oblige?

Cuomo rarely keeps his promises unless he is absolutely forced to (just as Working Families Party or Bill de Blasio) and he doesn't believe in ever owing anybody any favors.

Maybe Stewart-Cousins thinks being included on this trip is enough, but quite frankly, if I were a Democratic Party politician who kept getting screwed over by Andrew Cuomo, I'd be damned if I'd provide him political cover for it.

The Independent Democratic Conference released an agenda today and this was in it (emphasis added):

Creating an Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) for Public and Private Schools

When it comes to effectively educating our children, New York’s schools need every dollar they can get. The IDC believes in rewarding New Yorkers which opt to voluntarily donate to their local public or private school by finally making these donations tax deductible. In order to make sure every dollar is spent fairly and effectively, tax deductible donations made to private schools must be used to fund scholarship opportunities that qualify.

They can call it an "Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) for Public and Private Schools" or "scholarship opportunities" or whatever they want.

In effect, it's a backdoor voucher plan to steer tax money away from public schools to private schools and further undercut the public school system.

If enacted, that's how the program will work and you can bet that's the intent.

From State of Politics:

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos signaled he would be supportive of granting Gov. Andrew Cuomo more authority over the state’s education policy making. 

In an interview with Time Warner Cable News and NY1, Skelos said he backed the idea of changing the process through which the Board of Regents is appointed — essentially controlled by the Democratic-led Assembly.

“We’ve passed legislation a number of times, I believe it was Senator LaValle’s bills that would change the way Regents were selected,” Skelos said in the interview. “Right now, it’s basically Shelly Silver picking the Regents and we think there should be an opportunity for the Senate to be truly part of that process by both houses voting on the confirmations separately so the person who passed the Senate would have to pass the Assembly.”

In addition to raising the possibility of changing how the Regents are appointed, Cuomo has indicated he wants more power over how the state runs public education, which is currently controlled by the semi-autonomous Department of Education and its commissioner. 

“I think we should consider giving the governor more control of education as appropriate,” Skelos said.

The chance that Shelly Silver and Assembly Dems are going to cede power to Cuomo is non-existent.

Nonetheless you can see from Skelos' statements that a) Cuomo and Republicans are on the same team on this and b) if given a chance, they will try and impose more executive control over the state education system.

Republicans have a slim majority in the State Senate but their numbers will be bolstered by the five members of the Independent Democratic Conference (e.g., Jeff Klein, Tony Avella, et al.)

It is quite clear that GOPers and IDCers will be voting to give Cuomo all that he wants on education policy.

It's only the Assembly that will stand in the way.

In case you missed this not-so-subtle threat from Governor Cuomo during his second inauguration speech, here it is again:

Albany has been too concerned with protecting the pension rights of teachers and not enough with the future of students. #NYGov2015
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 1, 2015

Now we know Cuomo has already threatened to "break" what he termed the "public school monopoly" and has stated he believes more must be done to remove "bad teachers" from the system, so it's possible that the reference to teachers pensions in his statement is more a hit at Albany for not taking on teachers than anything else.

But I must say, that statement unnerved a lot of people on social media, and even as news broke that Governor Cuomo's father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, died yesterday, I still saw a lot of people retweeting and remarking on the Andrew Cuomo/teachers pensions attack from the second inauguration speech.

Ralph Ratto had a series of tweets, both before and after the Mario news, that sums up the reaction many teachers had to Andrew Cuomo's attack on teachers and their pensions yesterday:

@NYGovCuomo any attempt to touch public service workers' pensions will result in this state getting shut down..
— rratto (@rratto) January 2, 2015

@NYGovCuomo looking for a street fight.. Attacking pensions is the way to get it..
— rratto (@rratto) January 2, 2015

RT @rratto: @NYGovCuomo went to Buffalo and he thought he became Scott Walker of Wisconsin
— rratto (@rratto) January 2, 2015

Cuomo sends out a tweet attacking teacher pension on the day his father passes... classless
— rratto (@rratto) January 2, 2015

I too heard the pension attack as a warning shot (see here) and I agree with all of the sentiments Ralph Ratto expressed in his tweets.

That said, Cuomo can't attack just teachers pensions without taking on the whole system, as Harris Lirtzman pointed out in this comment:

Yes, he/they really do hate teachers.

But, deep breath, neither Cuomo nor the Legislature can change one city pension plan without changing all of them--in terms of benefit contributions, vesting and retirement calculations. Nor do I believe they can change the requirements for NYSTRS and NYSLERS at the state level, separately.

Cuomo may look to do "pension reform" again, push for new "tiers," or try to do away with pensions for future workers altogether and go with some sort of 401(K) plan.

But coming off a less than convincing re-election victory where he outraised his opponent 9-1 and still won the fewest votes of any sitting governor seeking re-election in New York since FDR in 1930, with a full Legislature pissed off at him that he didn't make a deal to raise their pay for the first time since 1999 and an Assembly controlled by Democrats looking to pay him back for some of his spiteful treatment of them, does he really have the political muscle for pension reform?

I'm dubious that he does.

In fact, if the teachers unions would just buckle down and fight him on his education reform agenda instead of signaling that they're ready to cave on the charter cap and teacher evaluation revisions, I think Cuomo could be beaten on his entire agenda this time around.

He's at the weakest point of his governorship and his allies in the State Senate hold a slim majority (though it may be enhanced by the turncoat IDC Dems like Jeff Klein and Tony Avella) while Assembly Dems actually picked up seats last election.

In addition, his functionaries in the administration have been quitting at a rapid pace and he hasn't been able to replace them - he's going into the second term with the second and third string running things for him.

Less-than-impressive re-election numbers, a slim GOP majority in the State Senate, Assembly Dems pissed at him, and an administration running with second and third string figures at the helm - this is not the most promising environment for a governor to push something as heavy as pension reform.

Not a surprise:

Charter school advocates are pushing for a bigger slice of the education pie after Republicans took a larger share of lawmaking power in Albany after last week’s election.

Pro-charter groups who spent millions on advertising, lobbying and campaigns in the fall want favorable treatment from the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo.

They seek to limit Mayor de Blasio’s control of charter schools, expand funding and lift the cap on charter schools in New York, allowing for the creation of more charter schools in the city and across the state.

...

There are currently 28 slots left for charter schools in New York City and an additional 133 upstate. Charter boosters seek to raise or eliminate those caps.

Charter advocates also want more money for charter schools set aside in the state budget. The state’s current budget leaves out facilities funding for many charter schools.

Pro-charter school groups pumped more than $4 million into a super PAC called New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany that helped the Republicans win the state Senate. Charter advocates also spent millions on lobbying.

Governor Cuomo has already told us he plans to "break" the public school system this term and dramatically expand charters acorss the state.

GOP leader Skelos has promised charters are going to get a major emphasis from his caucus this legislative session.

And IDC head Jeff Klein and his IDC betrayers - pro-charter, anti-public school pols all - have indicated they will try and share power with the GOP to push through the Republican agenda.

That means no matter what Assembly Leader Shelly Silver does, this is going through.

Barring something unforeseen, like a major scandal involving a major charter player like Eva Moskowitz or Cuomo getting hauled out in handcuffs by the US attorney investigating him over the Moreland mess, the charter people are going to get what they paid for this legislative session.

Ken Lovett in the Daily News:

Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said his conference in the upcoming year will aggressively push for new tax cuts, reduced business regulations, and education alternatives.

Skelos, during a Sunday morning radio appearance on supermarket mogul and and former mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis' AM 970 radio show, made it clear he believes voters this past week rejected much of the progressive agenda the Democrats had pushed.

...

He spoke of the need to adequately fund the traditional public school system while at the same time making clear that charter schools need to be part of the solution, particularly in minority communities.

Skelos also said he will push to help parochial schools. While he didn't specifically reference it, the Senate GOP and Catholic Church last year pushed for enactment of an education investment tax credit that was blocked by the Assembly Democrats.

Skelos also hinted his conference might take aim at various state-funded social programs, saying they should only be available to those who "truly" need them in order to give them a "helping hand up, not a hand down."

He reiterated he believes his conference will work closely with Sen. Jeffrey Klein and his group of breakaway Democrats. He didn't say exactly what form that would take. The past two years, with the Republicans lacking enough members to make up its own majority, the GOP and Independent Democratic Conference formed an unprecedented bipartisan governing coalition to run the chamber.

The blueprint is being laid out for all to see:

The State Senate GOP majority, with the help of the Independent Democratic Conference, will push for an increase or complete elimination of the charter cap, they will push for a voucher program to further undercut the public school system, and they will look to cut social programs to people in need in order to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy.

Yesterday Jimmy Vielkind reported that Independent Democratic Conference head Jeff Klein said it's time to rethink what it means to be a Democrat:

“I think we have to take a step back, also, and maybe redefine what it means to be a Democrat.”

Since Klein and his fellow Democrats in the IDC plan on joining with the State Senate Republican majority in order to push through pro-charter school proposals, voucher programs, and social program cuts for people in need in order to fund tax cuts for rich people, we do indeed need to "redefine what it means to be a Democrat."

It seems to me that since Klein, Governor Cuomo and so many other Democrats push Republican programs and policies these days, the redefinition of "Democrat" is "Republican."

According to Capital NY's Jimmy Vielkind, mobbed up Bronx politician Jeff Klein, a full-fledged member of the Independent Democratic Conference and an associate member of organized crime, was looking to complete his betrayal of his Democratic colleagues last night:

SAN JUAN, P.R.—Smiling widely and flanked by three of his colleagues in the Independent Democratic Conference, Bronx Senator Jeff Klein offered few clues about how the leadership structure of the State Senate will appear next year.

“The only thing I'm going to say right now is, I want to make sure the Independent Democratic Conference remains a separate conference. I think we proved to be a very effective force in governing—in a coalition government, when there wasn't a coalition government—and, you know, when we move forward I hope that's going to be what happens. If it's with the Democrats, if it's with the Republicans, I think the most important thing is that we have the I.D.C. as a separate conference,” he said Friday night. “I was very proud of the accomplishments that the I.D.C. and the Republicans in our coalition were able to accomplish. I never backed away from that, even in a Democratic primary or a general election, and I hope my Republican colleagues feel the same.”

Klein spoke to reporters at a “real, authentic event” that the I.D.C. sponsored overlooking the pool at the Intercontinental Hotel, the traditional site of the Somos El Futuro conference. About 100 people sipped Barrilito Rum and enjoyed hand-rolled cigars while paying respects to Klein, whose leathery face contrasted with a baby-blue blazer and open-collared checked shirt.

He qualified an initial statement that he was basically committed to conferencing with Republicans, but then threw shade on his fellow Democrats (“I think we have to take a step back, also, and maybe redefine what it means to be a Democrat”) and spoke happily of his time with the G.O.P. (“Elections mean something. We were validated: I won overwhelmingly in my primary.”)

Wow, so much here.

First, check out the photos below and tell me which one is from Godfather II and which one from Independent Democratic Conference Screws Democrats: Part II



Yeah, I know - you're picking the second photo, but that's only because you recognized Al Pacino.

In any case, the same betrayal that occurred down in Cuba in Godfather II is occurring in Puerto Rico this weekend at Independent Democratic Conference Screws Democrats II, with Klein all set to take his IDC traitors (numbering 5 or 6, depending upon if one newly elected member of the State Senate joins the caucus), join with Republicans to again share power in the Senate and help Governor Cuomo ram through as many corporate-friendly policies as possible before 2016 (when Hillary may top the Dem ticket and bring about a Democratic-controlled State Senate.)

GOP leader Dean Skelos has said he is open to talking to Klein about again sharing power in the Senate, even though this time around Republicans hold a slim majority and don't actually need the IDC members to push through legislation.

Still, adding an extra 5 or 6 IDC traitors to the GOP ranks will give Skelos wiggle room that he doesn't have without them, so I suspect we'll again end up with the GOP/IDC power share pushing through Cuomo's corporate-friendly agenda, altough it seems Klein will not wield the same amount of power this time around - there is unlikely to be a "co-presidency" of the Senate between Skelos and Klein.

Vielkinn reports that no matter what Klein and his fellow IDC rats do, some real bona fide Democrats don't sound all that eager to have them around - not after the last IDC betrayal and Klein making noise about the next one:

Despite Klein's declarations that he is open to a re-alliance, Senate Democrats seem uneager about him, whatever he ends up doing and whatever the details are.

“They betrayed us and got us in the back of the bus. We're still in the back of the bus. So this is the second session in which that betrayal is resonating,” said Senator Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat. “Whatever they started continues, and ironically, they're getting a taste of it.”

I noted above that Klein is mobbed up.  You may think I am indulging in hyperbole there, but actually I'm not.

The New York Observer reported the following back in the summer:

State Senator Jeff Klein took a $10,000 campaign donation from a mafia-linked realty company–the same firm he rents his district office space from.

The Bronx pol’s July filing shows that the Hutchinson Metro Center, an affiliate of Simone Development–formerly known as Hutch Realty Partners–kicked in the five figures in June. The donation brings the real estate group’s total contribution to Mr. Klein’s operation to a whopping $93,850 since 2006.

One of the Hutchinson Metro Center’s principals, Waters Development, is co-owned by Michael Contillo and Joseph Deglomini. Mr. Contillo and Mr. Deglomini were indicted in the 1990s of tax evasion, racketeering, and conspiring to raid the pension funds of building trade unions with the help of organized crime.

Mr. Klein relocated his official district office to the Hutchinson Center in 2011. A spokeswoman for the senator said that the move was based on the site’s central ___location in the Bronx- and Westchester-spanning district.

“Senator’s Klein’s district office is located in the expansive Hutchinson Metro Center complex, as are a number of city agencies including the New York City Housing Authority the City’s 911 call center, federal agencies and prominent New York institutions,” said spokeswoman Candice Giove. “Senator Klein’s district office lease, like all of Senate leases and lease renewals, was subject to procurement and vendor review by the State Senate and was reviewed and signed off on by both the Attorney General and New York State Comptroller.”

The New York Post has previously noted Mr. Klein had rented space and received donations from the mob-tied firm.

Ms. Giove did not immediately respond to requests for comment specifically about Mr. Klein’s acceptance of campaign funds from a mafia-affiliated organization.

According to the Daily News, Hutch Realty Partners purchased 10 acres of land–immediately adjacent to their center where Mr. Klein’s district office is located–from the state for a total of $5.5 million between 2001 and 2005, when the New York Police Department was interested in constructing a call center on the plot. After an extended fight, the city agreed to buy the land from the company for $46 million.

The senator’s camp said he had no input with the state, the city, or Hutch Realty Partners at any time during the land dealings.

“Senator Klein has absolutely no knowledge of the business matters of the Hutchinson Metro Center. He has never intervened in the Hutchinson Metro Center’s dealings with government, and any assertions to the contrary are wrong and unfair,” said Ms. Giove.

Hutch Realty Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has donated to other politicians and political causes, including $9,600 to the Bronx Democratic Party and $5,000 to Democratic Senate Minority Leader–and aspiring majority leader–Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Mr. Klein leads the Independent Democratic Conference, which formed a power-sharing arrangement with the Senate Republicans in 2012, but agreed to caucus again with the larger Democratic delegation last month.

If Klein ever betrayed his mobster associates the way he has betrayed his fellow Democrats, he'd end up missing until the police found him in the trunk of a burnt car somewhere in the Bronx with six bullet holes in him.

But Jeff Klein knows who he can betray and who he can't - he knows his fellow Dems will probably turn back to him when they need him even though he has already betrayed them once and is looking to do so again.

I certainly don't think Dems ought to treat his betrayal the way the mob would - that would be insane, immoral and criminal.

But I do think there ought to be some political consequences for Klein's sell-out - and the same goes for the rest of the members of the IDC (Avella, Savino, et al.)

Alas, it seems these traitors live on to repeat their betrayals over and over with impunity.

Nice work if you can get it, I guess - if you're a sociopath like Jeff Klein and his fellow IDCer's.

They're down in Puerto Rico cutting up the cake shaped like New York State right now.

Those of you who voted for a member of the Independent Democratic Conference should understand you have likely added extra seats to the Republican majority in the State Senate - something that will aid Governor Cuomo in pushing through his anti-teacher, anti-public school initiatives:

In an exclusive interview with Time Warner Cable News, Thursday, IDC Leader Jeff Klein said he’s hoping to continue the faction’s coalition with Republicans in the state senate, despite the outcome of Tuesday’s election. This comes as Republicans take a definitive majority in the state senate, regardless of any support the IDC may or may not end up providing to their caucus.

“I’ve had a great working relationship with Senator Skelos. I hope that continues. And I hope he agrees with me. That a coalition government was not only good over the last couple of years, but is something that works really, really well in the months and years ahead.”

Klein has been a pivotal player in Albany since the Independent Democratic Conference was formed in 2011. There are currently five Democrats sitting with the IDC, which may soon be expanded to six if Klein is able to convince newly elected State Senator Jesse Hamilton to join his ranks.

Republican Leader Dean Skelos said earlier this week in an interview on The Capitol Pressroom that he hasn’t made a decision to keep an agreement with the IDC yet, but says he’ll be meeting with Klein in the coming days to discuss their future.

People ask me, what can we do to protect ourselves against the coming onslaught against schools and teachers by Cuomo?

I say, well, it might have been easier to handle the onslaught if teachers would STOP voting for politicians who are anti-teacher, anti-public school, pro-charter and pro-reform.

As bad as it is to have our union leaders collaborating with our enemies, it is even worse when teachers themselves votes for them.

I heard all sorts of reasons why teachers were supporting IDC member Tony Avella over John Liu, IDC member Jeff Klein over Oliver Koppell.

It would have been nice to have John Liu in the State Senate about now to stand up for us instead of Tony Avella to sell us out.

Alas, we have Avella, whose victory over Liu was aided by teacher support.

Same can be said for Koppell.

He might not have been as staunch an ally against deform as Liu would have been, but he surely wouldn't have joined with Skelos and the Republicans for a co-leadership role in order to push through the Senate Cuomo's damaging plans for schools and teachers.

Alas, we have Klein - again with the help of teacher support.

There are 63 seats in the State Senate, the GOP has a slim majority without the IDCer's.

If the IDCer's join with the GOP, that slim majority jumps to 38 or 39 of the 63 seats.

Those are nice numbers for Cuomo to use to push through his "break" plans for the school system and teachers.

I wonder, will the teachers who voted for Avella, Klein, Savino and the rest of the IDC betrayers understand that they have contributed to the onslaught that is coming against schools and teachers by supporting members of the Independent Democratic Caucus?

Even further, after Klein, Avella, Savino et al. help Cuomo destroy public schools and the teaching profession in the next legislative session, will they STOP supporting these rent-a-politicians?

People ask, what concrete steps can we take to stop the attacks against public schools and teacher?

One easy step is to STOP supporting politicians like Klein, Avella and the other members of the Independent Democratic Caucus who aid the corporate deform movement and Governor Cuomo in their plans to destroy the public school system and the teaching profession.

Here's a betrayal you could see coming from miles away:

Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein, the leader of a breakaway faction of Democrats, edged away from an agreement made with the mainline conference of Democrats earlier this year, saying in an interview on Monday that “a lot has changed.”

In an interview on The Capitol Pressroom, Klein insisted he remained committed to electing more Democrats to the state Senate.

But at the same time, Klein acknowledged that it’s likely no one will be sure who has a clear majority in the chamber after Election Day, signaling that his conference will once again be in a position to play kingmaker.

“I think you have a lot of competitive races, I’ll be very surprised if we know tomorrow evening if there will be more Democrats than Republicans in the state Senate,” Klein said.

In a foreshadowing of what is to come this month – and potentially for the end of the year – Klein would not rule out working with Senate Republicans in some capacity next year.

“I’m a Democrat, I want to elect Democrats, but when the dust settles it’s incumbent on us to work together,” Klein said, adding: “I think it’s premature to say what anyone is going to do until the dust settles.” 

In a clear overture to Cuomo, Klein criticized those on “the extreme left” who have been critical of the governor, saying such statements hurt the Democratic ticket.

Democrats taking back the State Senate would not have guaranteed a more pro-public education or teacher-friendly body.

But you can be sure if Klein is co-running the State Senate along with GOP leader Dean Skelos, it will remain an Eva Moskowitz-friendly body that will give Cuomo whatever he wants on the charter cap, a revision to APPR to make it more punitive and his desire to "break" the public school "monopoly" this next term.

We'll see if Klein decides to go all the way with the betrayal - 2016 is expected to be a better year for Dems, with Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket, expanding the turnout for Dems.

So Klein has to maneuver carefully here.

He can end up holding power for two years before Dems retake the Senate and exact revenge on him.

But I'm not surprised he's already walking back from his promise to caucus with Dems.

Klein's a slippery fellow, that's for sure - as are many of his fellow members of the IDC.

Norm Scott at Ed Notes Online reported this story last night:

NYSUT officers got their pals, Klein and Skelos, to pass this law giving them leaves of absences at full pay, all of it pensionable, and get Cuomo to sign it at the speed of light - for the NY State legislature.

AN ACT to amend chapter 675 of the laws of 1984 relating to providing fringe benefits for certain employees of school districts and boards of cooperative educational services, in relation to leaves of absence...

Oh, who may these "certain employees" be?

The salary paid shall be the salary the employee would have earned and received had THE EMPLOYEE remained in service in the position

A. 10019 2

1 which THE EMPLOYEE held as a full time employee at the time
2 THE EMPLOYEE was first elected as an elective officer, prior to the granting of the leave of absence based on the salary schedule in effect for the negotiating unit during each year of the leave of absence.
This act shall take effect immediately.

Why the newly elected NYSUT officers - of course, this is a priority matter. They will now get their full salary they from their old local (with pension credits) while they are state officers in NYSUT - the union reimburses their locals, but may not be asked too if the NYSUT state leadership sells out at a fast enough clip.

The law can be read in full here -

http://openstates.org/ny/bills/2013-2014/A10019/ -- if you have the stomach.

The NYSUT leaders also failed to announce this news at recent state meetings, and given passing any legislation at all would call for a victory party, there are some thoughts Karen Magee, Andy Palotta, and gang were pulling a coverup.

The bill was introduced on June 9, passed by the Assembly on June 19, passed by the State Senate on June 20 and signed by Cuomo into law on July 22.

Wondering why NYSUT decided not to endorse Teachout and stay neutral in the governor's race?

Well, Cuomo signed this pension giveaway to the NYSUT officers into law swifter than you can say "Common Core!"

Wondering why NYSUT endorsed the mobbed-up, pro-charter, pro-voucher Jeff Klein for re-election (as I was wondering)?

Well, IDC head Klein did let this come up for a vote (and then voted for it.)

Wondering why NYSUT is pushing Common Core even when the current NYSUT leadership ran against Common Core in last spring's election?

Well, Cuomo loves Common Core and NYSUT officers love double pensions and, well, you can see how all this works.

There are of course other reasons for the shenanigans around the NYSUT endorsement of Klein, the neutrality for Cuomo and the support for Common Core, but don't underestimate old time corruption like this quid pro quo giveaway to the NYSUT leadership.

These people are crooks, the crookedness displayed here is as bad as any under investigation by Preet Bharara now that he took over the Moreland Commission files and quite frankly, this ought to be one more case the US attorney should be looking into.

Just how did the pension giveaway to the NYSUT leadership get fast-tracked through the legislature and signed into law by the governor and what did the politicians involved get in return for fast-tracking it?

 From State of Politics:

Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein on Friday touted his endorsement from the New York State United Teachers union.

“I’m honored to have the endorsement of NYSUT, whose membership works hard each and every day on everything from shaping young minds in our public schools to educating adults in our colleges and universities. I’m committed to being a voice for our educators in Albany,” Klein said in a statement released this afternoon.

Klein faces former city Councilman Oliver Koppell in a Democratic primary next month.
NYSUT announced its slate of endorsements in the Legislature this week, but declined to endorse in the race for governor.

“Those who earn endorsements are friends of public education and labor,” NYSUT President Karen Magee said. “Over the last two years, they earned our support by advocating effectively for our public schools, colleges and healthcare institutions; listening intently to the concerns and aspirations of our members, and voting consistently the right way.”

Let's leave aside that you can't turn your back on State Senator Klein without getting a knife in it.

Let's leave aside that he's a mob-connected politician who belongs in prison, not the state senate.

Let's leave aside that he's been a good friend to Governor Cuomo, ensuring Cuomo got his tax cuts for the 1% and other Wall Street budget priorities.

All those things are bad enough.

But this is a guy who is pro-charter school, pro-voucher, and pro-APPR, a guy who's a favorite of StudentsFirstNY and other education reform groups, a guy who was one of only two Senate Dems who voted a few years ago to end seniority protections for teachers.

If NYSUT leaders had their rank-and-file members interests at heart, they would have turned on Klein and endorsed his opponent, Oliver Koppell.

Instead they endorsed the pro-charter, pro-voucher, pro-APPR guy with the mob ties and education reform bona fides.

Your NYSUT leaders in action

Maybe some of Klein's organized crime friends made them an offer they couldn't refuse?

Old timey corruption, Carlo Gambino-style!

State Senator Jeff Klein took a $10,000 campaign donation from a mafia-linked realty company–the same firm he rents his district office space from. 

The Bronx pol’s July filing shows that the Hutchinson Metro Center, an affiliate of Simone Development–formerly known as Hutch Realty Partners–kicked in the five figures in June. The donation brings the real estate group’s total contribution to Mr. Klein’s operation to a whopping $93,850 since 2006.

Two principals of the company, Michael Contillo and Joseph Deglomini, were indicted in the 1990s of tax evasion, racketeering, and conspiring to raid the pension funds of building trade unions with the help of organized crime.

Mr. Klein relocated his official district office to the Hutchinson Center in 2011. A spokeswoman for the senator said that the move was based on the site’s central ___location in the Bronx- and Westchester-spanning district.

“Senator’s Klein’s district office is located in the expansive Hutchinson Metro Center complex, as are a number of city agencies including the New York City Housing Authority the City’s 911 call center, federal agencies and prominent New York institutions,” said spokeswoman Candice Giove. “Senator Klein’s district office lease, like all of Senate leases and lease renewals, was subject to procurement and vendor review by the State Senate and was reviewed and signed off on by both the Attorney General and New York State Comptroller.”

...

The New York Post has previously noted Mr. Klein had rented space and received donations from the mob-tied firm.

Ms. Giove did not immediately respond to requests for comment specifically about Mr. Klein’s acceptance of campaign funds from a mafia-affiliated organization. 

...

According to the Daily News, Hutch Realty Partners purchased 10 acres of land–immediately adjacent to their center where Mr. Klein’s district office is located–from the state for a total of $5.5 million between 2001 and 2005, when the New York Police Department was interested in constructing a call center on the plot. After an extended fight, the city agreed to buy the land from the company for $46 million.

The senator’s camp said he had no input with the state, the city, or Hutch Realty Partners at any time during the land dealings.

My favorite part of that story?

The sentence that reads:

Ms. Giove did not immediately respond to requests for comment specifically about Mr. Klein’s acceptance of campaign funds from a mafia-affiliated organization.

That's just a fabulous sentence.

In fact, the whole story is just great from start to finish - Klein takes almost $100K from mob associates, they make almost $40 million on land next to Klein's office that they first bought from the state for $5.5 million then sold to the city for $46 million, but Klein says he didn't help in the least with any of it.

Sure you didn't, Jeff.

Is there anybody in Albany political circles who isn't a fucking crook?

From Ken Lovett at the Daily News:

ALBANY — Two influential labor unions are threatening to yank their long-time support of Senate co-Leader Jeffrey Klein if he and his group of breakaway Democrats don’t begin conversations to realign themselves with the chamber’s mainline Dems.

The unions representing the city’s teachers and the hotel and motel workers threw down that gauntlet late last week to Klein, who heads the five-member Independent Democratic Conference that jointly runs the Senate with the Republicans, sources said.

“We value the work the Independent Democratic Conference has been able to accomplish for our members with the coalition, but, as working families continue to struggle, it’s frankly past time the Democrats figure out a way to unite,” said Josh Gold, political director for the hotel and motel workers.

The Hotel and Motel Trades Council has already endorsed Klein’s reelection. The United Federation of Teachers, which did not return calls for comment, has yet to formally back Klein but recently voted against endorsing Klein’s primary opponent, Oliver Koppell.

But now both unions have told Klein that he and his members “must make a good faith effort to re-align themselves with the mainline Democrats,” or face losing their backing, said one labor source familiar with the situation.

“They basically told him, ‘We’re ... important supporters and we expect you to sit down and have these conversations. If you don’t, then we don’t know how we can continue supporting you,’” the source said.

The unions aren’t necessarily asking that the independent conference rejoin the Democratic mainstream, but rather break their agreement with the Senate Republicans and form a new coalition to run the chamber with the traditional Dems.

The demand came a week after the announcement of a new coalition involving Gov. Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio and key labor unions designed to take back the Senate for the Democrats.

The question I have is, given the anti-teacher and anti-traditional public education initiatives Jeff Klein has pushed as head of the IDC, why is the UFT backing him in the first place?

That they don't even care if he rejoins the Democratic Caucus, just that he pledges to stop governing with Republicans, shows you how rotten to the core the UFT political strategy is.

From Ken Lovett at the Daily News:

Former City Controller John Liu has decided to run for state Senate, a source close to him told the Daily News.

Liu, 47, will primary Queens Democrat incumbent Tony Avella, who angered party leaders earlier this year by joining a faction of breakaway Dems who jointly control the Senate with the GOP.
“This is John’s reemergence,” the source said. “He sees it as an opportunity to contribute.”

Confident mainline Dems believe a Liu victory could help them reclaim control of the chamber--or at the very least weaken the Republican-dissident Dem majority coalition.

...

 

From Newsday:

Students at Suffolk County Community College will face a tuition increase of $250 this fall, bringing the annual charges to $4,390 at the two-year school.

The tuition hike is part of the $208.4 million 2014-15 operating budget that college trustees sent to county officials Friday.

The increase comes even though the Bellone administration agreed after two days of talks with college officials to a 2 percent increase in the county share of college costs -- or $780,000. College trustees, in the budget vote Thursday night, also included a one-shot use of $4.3 million from the college's $24.9 million reserve fund to keep tuition from rising further.

"Two hundred and fifty dollars may not sound like much unless you don't have it," said trustee Jim Morgo, head of the trustee budget committee, noting the college's mission is to provide affordable education where many students come from "very challenging economic backgrounds."

...

College officials blamed the increased tuition on the state, which increased operating aid for each full-time student by only $75. College presidents had sought $250 and the State Senate had proposed $125. The Assembly, which had sought a $50 increase, compromised with the Senate on $75, to make the per student aid $2,497. In all, the state share is 25.9 percent of college costs.

County aid has remained flat over the past six years with just a 1% increase in aid to SCCC in that time frame, another contributing factor to the cost of SCCC tuition going up next year.

Tax breaks for rich people, tuition hikes for community college students - that should be an Andrew Cuomo campaign ad.

The Assembly and Senate are to blame too.

But this is Cuomo's budget, the one he's bragging about every chance he gets, so the buck and the responsibility for it lie with him.

Gary Stern at Lohud has a piece out about an Assembly bill to delay a new state test for prospective teachers that many education students say they have not been given sufficient time to prepare for.

In the article, we get this statement from an Assemblywoman Deborah Glick about the problems with the new NYSED policy and test:

"It hasn't been thought out," she said. "It seems the state Education Department, whether on this issue or K-12 testing, has been intransigent and disconnected from people's lives."

Just how disconnected from people's lives are the functionaries at the state Education Department?

So disconnected that NYSED Commissioner King, flanked by US Secretary of Education
Duncan, gave a defiant speech at New York University yesterday in which he declared there will be no turning back from the state's education reform agenda and no quarter given to opponents and critics of that agenda.

King further stated that no matter how botched the Common Core implementation has been, it will continue unabated:

“The road to change will always be bumpier for some than for others,” the commissioner, John B. King Jr., said in a speech to officials, educators and public policy students at New York University. “But that’s no reason to stop."

Nope, no change in course, no rethinking goals, no softening the rhetoric - just damn the torpedos, full speed ahead with reform!

So far, despite widespread criticism of King and the SED/Regents/Cuomo reform agenda, there have been few changes to the reform trajectory.

The Common Core Standards are still the "state" standards, the Common Core tests are still being given, and while the tests do not "count" for students, they are still be using to evaluate teachers and ultimately fire the "bad" ones.

In addition, the legislature and governor have given even more money to SED for "professional development" for teachers and administrators, more money to SED for public relations outreach to parents to win them over on the Common Core and other reform agenda components, and more time to continue their reform agenda pretty much undiminshed by public criticism or concern.

As I wrote earlier, until politicians are made to pay political prices for supporting King, Regents Chancellor Tisch and the state's reform agenda, SED Commissioner King and the other education reform functionaries at SED are going to continue on their reform trajectory.

You take out a couple of Assembly Members in a primary or general, directly related to Common Core and the state's ed reform agenda, and you'll see some changes.

There has been some talk of Oliver Koppell challenging IDC head/State Senator Jeff Klein of the Bronx.

Klein, despite being a former teacher, has helped Governor Cuomo dismantle public schools here in NYC by giving them unlimited expansion powers and more cash from the public school budget.

Klein has been very supportive of Common Core, APPR and other parts of the state's reform agenda.

Helping to take Klein out of power would certainly get some attention from the political hacks in Albany that critics and opponents of the state's reform agenda mean business.

Benedict Arnold/Tony Avella is another pol in need of a new job who would be ripe for a take-out over CCSS (with Avalla now part of the IDC, he helps ensure the state's reform agenda remains intact 100%.)

Dunno if either Klein or Avella will be primaryed, dunno if either could be taken out in either a primary or a general, but I'll tell you what - until that starts to happen, the arrogant autocrats at the SED and the Regents are going to continue to shove their agendas down our throats.

And they'll do it in style, as King did yesterday, with middle finger waving in our faces, letting us know just how powerless we are to effect change in this "democracy" we call New York State.

Apparently they're still wrangling over the education issues:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top state lawmakers appeared to come to an agreement on much of the state budget late Friday, but a bill laying out more than $20 billion in education spending wasn’t introduced before a key midnight deadline.

Both the Senate and Assembly printed eight bills just before 11:59 p.m. Friday that would implement most of the state budget. Since they made it in before midnight, it means they will be eligible for a vote Monday—the deadline for having a spending plan in place.

Legislation for school spending, however, still hadn’t been introduced as of 1:30 a.m. Saturday, bringing into question whether Cuomo would be willing to waive a mandatory three-day aging period in order to salvage what could be the state’s fourth consecutive on-time budget.

Cuomo met separately with Senate leaders and legislative staffers throughout the day Friday, but a full budget agreement—which had been widely expected—remained elusive. A final spending plan is expected to total around $138 billion for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins Tuesday.

What's holding the education spending bill up?

Are they arguing over the two-tiered pre-K reimbursement?

Are they arguing over how much money is going to spent on pre-K?

Does Eva Moskowitz want more money from the state for rent and per pupil spending?

Is Eva pissed that charters are now subject to state and local auditing?

Who knows.

All we do know is, the education spending part of the budget is threatening to derail the on-time budget overall.

We'll see what happens - you know Cuomo is desperate to get another on-time budget so he can say every budget has been on time since he was elected governor.

My guess is, he'll push hard and heavy to get what he wants, then waive the "aging" process for the bill by issuing a "message of necessity" so that he can claim "victory" again.

From State of Politics:

Assembly Speaker Sheldon made his second impromptu visit down the hallway of the Legislative Correspondence Association Friday morning, confirming to reporters that he is indeed still in Albany and no final agreement had been reached on a spending plan.

...

Talks have apparently stalled on the budget, Silver said.

“Leaders meetings have not been quite as productive,” Silver said.

He added, “Things did not move as fast as they should have overnight.”

Lawmakers had indicated on Thursday that an announcement on a final agreement for the budget would come Friday. So far, nothing has been scheduled at the Capitol to unveil a budget.

And what's holding up an agreement?

“A whole bunch of issues,” he said, “education, UPK, everything.”

Does that mean the charter stuff is not a done deal?

Probably not (in fact, the hold-up on education seems to be over the two-tiered reimbursement for pre-K), but there's still time to call Silver's office and let him know what you think about the charter school giveaway that is being reported:

Here's his contact:

518-455-3791
212-312-1420

Might not do any good, but it's worth trying.