Apparently, the city will go through another round of public hearings. Perhaps it will even investigate the effect closing neighborhood schools will have on affected communities, so as to preclude another lawsuit. But judging from the city's position, Bloomberg's people have no plans of listening to community members. They can all go to hell because the mayor has made up his mind already, and he has more money than they do.
Just weeks ago Bloomberg announced, supposedly to avoid layoffs, he would not give teachers a raise. Every single major media outlet, including the New York Times, took this as gospel and praised him for his incredible insight. None bothered to check the Taylor Law, which requires he negotiate with the UFT. None questioned his sudden decision to ignore pattern bargaining, which had been regarded as more vital than the Ten Commandments when the pattern was undesirable.
It was good that the UFT threw a wrench in the works with their lawsuit. However, it appears to have been nothing more than a band-aid on a gaping wound, and Tweed appears to have disregarded it with incredible impunity. I hope the UFT has something more up its sleeve than the new merit pay scheme it's agreed to.
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