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Thousands of current and retired teachers, as well as elected officials (and parents), packed the Hilton Saturday for the city teachers' union annual gala.One city official got the group's highest award, while others became the target of potshots for how they're running the city's schools.
This year, the United Federation of Teachers gave its highest award to City Comptroller Bill Thompson, former Board of Education president and mayoral aspirant.
Union president Randi Weingarten says Thompson is an ally in checking the mayor's near total school control.
"He is sometimes the only watchdog we have," she said.
Thompson immediately laid out his agenda, starting with big audits of no-bid education contracts he says need some going over.
"These contracts reflect questionable fiscal management with impacts that ripple through the education system," said Thompson.
Weingarten, the victor in a nasty legislative fight that stopped the mayor from tying teacher tenure to student test scores, blasted what she calls Mayor Michael Bloomberg's go-at-it-alone approach.
Her criticism came while the mayor's school chiefs, Chancellor Joel Klein and Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, sat within feet of the podium.
"I don't know why, but for whatever reason, the Bloomberg-Klein administration has shut the community out," said Weingarten.
Walcott and Klein deflected Weingarten's criticism, calling it public posturing. They say behind the scenes they work very closely with the teachers union.
"It's both public posturing, but it's also capturing the belief of some of the people out there," said Walcott. "They don't just want input; they want to be decision makers, but frankly decision rests with the mayor and chancellor."
Klein said student achievement and teacher salaries are way up, with top pay over $100,000 a year.
"We have a disagreement about tenure," said Klein. "It's a real disagreement. She pushed back. It's part of mayoral accountability. People can push back."
Important decision makers are listening. A member of the Board of Regents, the state's high court on education, said this about Weingarten's speech.
"It's a wake up call for the city," said Betty Rosa, a member of the Board of Regents, about Weingarten's speech. "To realize we need collaboration, we need community, and complete comprehensive input is an eye-opener."
An important indication of where other Albany decision makers might be, with the state law on mayoral school control up for renewal next year.
- Michael Meenan
