State Governments need to feel the BAT!

TIME FOR CUOMO TO GET OUT OF THE SCHOOL BUSINESS



By Dr. John Metallo, Slingerlands, NY (The author is a retired teacher and administrator. Among the positions he has held are principal of Albany High School and adjunct instructor at the University at Albany and SUNY Plattsburgh.) (518) 577-7530




In an article in Friday's New York Daily News, New York State Governor, Andrew Cuomo crossed the line when it comes to his diatribe about New York State's Public Schools. The leader of the state had this to say:

“There is going to be have to be a death penalty for failing schools . . . where we say the children come first, before the bureaucracy,” Cuomo told reporters during a stop in suburban Buffalo late Thursday. “If the school fails, the school has to end.”
Cuomo said options for failing schools include a takeover by the state or a takeover by a charter school. “I don’t want Albany to sit there and tell communities how to run their schools but I do feel comfortable sitting in Albany and saying failing schools is not an option,” Cuomo said.


It is time for all educators to ask for Cuomo's resignation. He says that he does not want Albany to tell communities how to run their schools, however, he has meddled in schools more than any previous governor including causing the State Education Department to renege on an agreement that had been negotiated with the teachers' union regarding teacher evaluation. His comments show how little he knows about the public school system and the people within it. They show how he continually tries to simplify and extremely complex issue which goes well beyond the walls of the school house and reaches all areas of the community. The comments also show how how little he cares about the public schools.



Now he is using the term "death penalty" when referring to our schools. This is beyond hurtful and thoughtless. These schools serve our kids. They are also staffed by many very talented and caring individuals who want nothing but the best for their students. I am proud to number myself as their colleague. I am proud to be a teacher and a school administrator who worked in New York State's outstanding public school districts for almost 40 years.



It is laughable that one of Cuomo's plans is to replace failing schools with either charter schools or have the state take them over. The charter schools, overall, did worse on the last round of tests than the regular public schools did. Taxpayers pay for charter schools which are also public schools. Perhaps they should be replaced by regular public schools. The idea of the "state" taking over a public school is truly ludicrous. One does not need to look far to find examples of the inefficiency of various state departments including drunk employees on the job and the creation of man caves in various departments.The state could really help in this endeavor. By the way, when are we doing to start seeing the results of Mr. Cuomo's personally crafted teacher evaluation program? I have not heard a peep out of him about that lately. That is because it will soon crash and burn like all other school improvement plans authored by politicians.



Cuomo's comments have nothing to do with improving public schools. They have to do with his outright disdain for public schools and public school teachers and administrators. Death penalty indeed, Mr. Cuomo, you should be ashamed!