Rules? We Don't Need No Stinking Rules

Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson are sorely disappointed at NY State's failure to win "Race to the Top" funds.   They could've used the money to plug the state's budget gap.  Only the rules specifically say the money cannot be used to plug budget gaps.  It can only be used for "innovation," like finding new and more creative ways to fire teachers, break contracts, and open charters for Eva Moskowitz.  You'd think they'd salivate at such a prospect.  Instead, they wallow in misery for not having raised the charter cap--something they'll undoubtedly revisit.

Unfortunately for Mike and Dave, the legislature insisted on giving parents a say in whether or not charters invaded the schools their children attended.  As few parents want their kids to have less space, fewer libraries, classes in cafeterias, or separate and unequal learning conditions, that did not bode well for the pro-charter crowd.  Thus, Mike and Dave needed to shove charters down the throats of unwilling parents, and failed to raise the charter cap.

Certainly they will try to raise or eliminate the cap again in their quest for more money.  It's kind of remarkable that Mayor Mike needs any more money.  Didn't he defy the voters' term limits law specifically because he was the only individual on God's green earth who could steer us through the budget crisis?  I don't recall his stating that the only way to do so was by trampling the will of public school parents.  Perhaps that was not the catchiest of campaign slogans.

Once again, rules are for the little people, and neither the mayor nor the governor feels they should be constrained by them.  The hell with the rules, the hell with the parents, we're in charge and we can do what the hell we like.

Now that's leadership.