Mayor Bloomberg hired a parent coordinator for every school. In my school, that means one parent to represent 4400 kids. Our parent coordinator is very hard-working and well-intentioned. Nonetheless, she has an impossible task.
So it's little surprise to me the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council has chosen to boycott Mayor Mike's Lobby Day in Albany, albeit by the narrowest of margins. If I were a city parent, and my mayor refused to contribute one dime toward the landmark CFE lawsuit, I'd be disappointed too.
While it's Pataki now technically fighting it, when the judge said the city could pay a portion, he offered to pay 60% of its cost. CFE suggested the state pay 75%. Bloomberg's rep, by way of negotiation, said the city would say "No, thank you" if compelled to pay anything whatsoever. This ought to make it very clear to anyone exactly how much this mayor values substantive change in city schools.
The Council will indeed go to Albany, but on March 14th with the UFT.
"There is no consultation prior to Lobby Day of what parents want," said Juan de la Cruz, a member of the council who has two children in Queens high schools. "It's always their agenda, and we're just there for bodies." He added, "The only way we could voice what we want, what parents want, is to go on our own."
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