It seems they postponed the vote after the article came out, but that doesn't change the secretive use of public money.
Public kept in dark about sweet deals for Success Charter Network schoolsSUNY trustees are rushing to approve a whopping 50% increase in the annual per-pupil management fee the state pays to one of the city’s biggest and most controversial charter school operators.
Under the plan, the Success Charter Network, run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, will see its management fee jump from $1,350 to $2,000 for each pupil enrolled at its five schools in the Harlem area.
..."The increase for the Success Network is being carried out in a stealth manner, as is an accompanying proposal to reorganize its five Harlem schools — Harlem Success Academy 1 to 5 — under a single nonprofit corporation, even though they are located in three separate community school districts.
.."Opponents claim the Success Network creams the best performing students from the public schools and foments neighborhood conflicts by always insisting on more space in public school buildings where its programs are located.
In a article published after the vote was postponed, Moskowitz blamed the teachers' union.
Vote delayed on controversial fee hike for Eva Moskowitz's Success Charter Network schoolsOfficials delayed a vote Tuesday on a controversial fee hike for Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain.
The SUNY Board of Trustees was slated to vote on Success Charter Network’s request that the state pay it 50 % more in per-pupil management fees for its five Harlem schools.
..."Moskowitz blamed the teachers union for the delayed vote.
"We are disappointed that union opposition has once again made it difficult to do the right thing for children,” Moskowitz said.
I had saved a blog post from 2010 describing Moskowitz, Joel Klein, and Michael Bloomberg as The Trifecta of Corruption.
Joel Klein, Eva Moskowitz, and Mike Bloomberg: The Trifecta of CorruptionI thought the Village Voice’s Steve Thrasher made my week with his expose’ of an Upper East Side public school thoughtfully segregated between gifted, mostly Caucasian students, and averege, mostly minority students. The best was the revelation that the gifties stroll through the front door, while the others must go in the back — same for the respective staffs.Some highlights: “Gifted” students are outed by performance on a test given at the age of four. The two schools have different schedules, the students have separate recesses, lunchtimes, and there is a marked difference between class sizes, materials, and perks. It’s quite a read.
The blog links to a 2010 article by
Juan Gonzalez at the NY Daily News.There are 77 primary documents linked as well. They appear to be the emails between Moskowitz and Joel Klein about closing public schools for the advantage of her charter schools. You have to log in to your gmail to see them.
I love the term Trifecta of Corruption.
I despise the way such power has been enabled by the policies of this administration.
