Leonie Haimson: At Charter School Hearings, Ravitch Faces Off Sen. Craig Johnson, Shill of the Charter School Industry - The Huffington Post

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New York State Senator Bill Perkins held oversight hearings on charter schools yesterday, and was vehemently criticized by the tabloids for daring to call for more accountability and transparency, despite numerous articles in the press, documenting repeated instances of conflicts of interest and excessive profit-making by the industry.

The Post has published more than eleven (!!!) articles and opeds in the last two days, attacking Perkins, and calling for him to be ousted from office.

I doubt the Post has ever expressed as much hostility against Osama Bin Laden himself.

The Daily News ran an editorial entitled "Lunacy let Loose," accusing the academics and advocates who testified against the potential for unregulated corruption and abuse by charter schools, and parents who told of how their own children had been pushed out of charters as making "unsubstantiated accusations, contradictory claims, canards and exaggerations."

The fact is that Sen. Perkins is not alone, and there is now not a single elected official from Harlem who supports the charter cap being lifted, after having witnessed the bulldozer tactics, lies and ways in which Joel Klein and the NYC Department of Education has allowed charter schools to undermine the district's public schools through the loss of resources, students, and space. (For more on DOE's dishonesty, see this video of NYC Councilmember Inez Dickens of Harlem at a recent hearing on the co-location of the charter school Harlem Success Academy at PS 123. Dickens tells how she had been falsely promised by DOE officials two years ago that PS 123 would be able to regain all its lost classrooms and cluster spaces.)

In fact, Joel Klein could not do more to promote failure at the district schools that he is responsible for running if he tried.

Even more outrageous is how the charter industry and the hedge fund managers who are supporting them insist on legally blocking the ability of the State Comptroller to audit their use of tax-payer funds; a rather inexcusable position, which the tabloids cannot admit or defend. If there is no corruption there, what have they got to hide?

Diane Ravitch was the lead-off witness yesterday; her entire testimony is posted here. Here is an excerpt:

As the number of charters grows, public authorities must ensure that charter operators are responsible. We have seen stories in the press, especially the New York Daily News, about charters that produce astonishing profits for entrepreneurs and investors, while storing children in trailers with meager facilities. This is not right. Just last month, on March 9, the New York Times described how public schools in Harlem now must market themselves to compete with charter schools for new students. The regular public schools have less than $500 each to create brochures and fliers; the charter firm with which they compete has a marketing budget of $325,000. That's not fair.

We have seen stories about non-profit entrepreneurs who are paid $400,000 a year or more to run charters for 1,000 children. That's more than the Chancellor of the New York City schools is paid, and more than the U.S. Secretary of Education. That's not right. The New York Daily News reports today that charter schools, unlike other public schools, are not subject to public audits or to rules prohibiting nepotism and conflicts of interest by their board members or staff. That's not right.

The Legislature must insist that charters act like public institutions and that they are fiscally transparent and accountable.

For Ravitch's gall in pushing for more oversight, she was bullied and berated by Sen. Craig Johnson, Democrat from Nassau County, who is the charter industry's main supporter in the Legislature, despite the fact that he has not one charter school in his district. Why?

Could it be because he receives $65,000 a year in contributions from the charter school lobby? Nah.

As it happens, Diane Ravitch is the keynote speaker at the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association at its 50th anniversary dinner on June 1.

Knowing Diane as I do, I would guess that Sen. Craig Johnson has not heard the last about his insistence on foisting more unregulated charter schools on New York City, which the parents and school boards in Nassau County would vehemently oppose if they were forcibly inserted into their own communities.

Yet as NY State taxpayers, his constituents should still object to having their hard-earned tax dollars put at risk in this way.

Follow Leonie Haimson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/leoniehaimson

Comptroller Thompson Unveils Proposal to Dilute Mayoral Control of NYC Water Board

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., joined by New York State Assembly Member James F. Brennan, State Senator Bill Perkins, and New York City Council Member David Weprin, today unveiled legislation to amend State law to offset the Mayor’s iron grip influence on the New York City Water Board.

“The current structure simply isn’t working and is draining money from the pockets of City residents. If the Board reflected the views of a diverse group of people and not exclusively the view of City Hall, New Yorkers likely would not have been saddled with three consecutive double-digit increases in their water and sewer rates,” Thompson said. “The current culture of the Board discourages appropriate decision-making, sufficient independent monitoring, and accountability.”

Currently, the Mayor appoints all seven members of the Water Board. Under the new proposal, the Mayor would not have complete control of the Board and instead would appoint only four members. The other three would be named by the City Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Speaker of the City Council. Additionally, the Board Chairman would be elected by Board members and not the Mayor.

“This Board needs independence and not an imposed, unilateral view that doesn’t reflect the realities faced by New Yorkers,” Thompson said, pointing to two instances over the last year where Water Board members challenged City actions, only to later resign or be replaced on the Board.

“A more representative board would assure integrity to the decision-making process for just and reasonable rates. Issues like improper subsidies from water ratepayers to the General Fund of the City would get a real vetting,” said Brennan.

“This lack of accountability to ratepayers must come to an end,” said Weprin. “It is time for the DEP and the Water Board to be accountable to the residents of New York City. The Water Board’s current structure prevents the Council from having a say over the Water Board’s decisions. Adding non-mayoral appointees would give the people of this City a better voice on the Water Board. This is the only way to curb an out-of-touch Water Board from operating in vacuum. Something needs to be done, and this is the only way to keep the Water Board in check by providing the balance that is currently lacking.”

Last month, the Water Board voted to impose a 12.9 percent water rate hike. Due to go into effect on July 1^st, this increase will raise an average single family home owner’s annual water bill from $571 to $903 in just four years – a whopping 58 % increase, or about five times the inflation rate.

“The Water Board’s plan to seek another 12 percent rate hike in Fiscal Year 2011 demonstrates that it intends to continue to squeeze money out of the pockets of ratepayers,” Thompson said. “It is imperative that changes be made to the Water Board with sufficient time to address next year’s water rate-setting process. Since the City continues to ignore recommendations made by my office, other elected officials, and advocates, it’s time for us to take steps to rectify the situation on behalf of New Yorkers.”

The Water Board leases the water and sewer infrastructure from the City. Rental payments are based on a formula that, until recently, reimbursed the City for water-related debt service on bonds issued before the Water Authority was created. Since 2005, however, the formula has led to rental payments in excess of the underlying City expense.

Thompson indicated that this formula is forcing water ratepayers to subsidize the City’s General Fund, because “excess rent” flows into that fund and is used as general revenue. In Fiscal Year 2009, such “excess rent” will total $106 million, and this is predicted to swell to more than $200 million by Fiscal Year 2013.

Over the last two years, Thompson proposed rebating the “excess rent” back to the Water Board to offset the cost of running the water system. In Thompson’s plan, the “excess rent” would have been split equally for two purposes: one half for pay-as-you-go capital spending, which reduces costs over the long term, and the other half for other water system expenses, which would lessen the need for rate increases.

Dozens of Queens GOP Workers Repay Patron by Raising Funds for Reelection by Robert Gearty, Benjamin Lesser and Greg B. Smith - NY Daily News

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At the board of Elections, politicians who put loyal party followers into patronage jobs often get something in return - campaign cash.

State Sen. Serphin Maltese - Durand for News

Take state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Queens), who faced a tough, and ultimately unsuccessful, bid for re-election this year.

Maltese, head of the Queens GOP, was instrumental in arranging dozens of board jobs for Queens Republicans, including his part-time counsel, Anthony Como, who until recently served for years as a city Board of Elections commissioner.

Many other party loyalists got board jobs with salaries ranging from $25,000 to $90,000.

In return, at least 19 board workers bundled together dozens of donations ranging from $50 to $400 to raise $10,020 for their benefactor.

The highest-paid donor, Queens Deputy Clerk Katherine James, raised the most - $4,755. She was listed as a member of Maltese's "Platinum Club" at his annual Hawaiian luau fund-raiser.

All told, 38 employees in the board's headquarters and its Queens office got their jobs through the Queens Republican Party, records show. Maltese even got Como and his fellow commissioners a pay raise, sponsoring a bill to hike their pay for the part-time appointments from $12,500 to $30,000 a year - more than the state Board of Elections commissioners make.

Anthony Como - Smith for News

A Daily News investigation found that in the last three election cycles, board employees made 183 donations to city candidates, mostly in small amounts.

City Controller William Thompson announced he'd review all the board's expenses following Sunday's News exposé.

"The information reported by the Daily News is extremely troubling," said Thompson's top aide, Deputy Controller John Graham. "It appears that a number of these expenditures are not justifiable."

He declined further comment pending the agency's review.

Besides troubling expenses, questions also swirl around political contributions by city board employees.

For example, Assemblyman Denny Farrell, head of the Manhattan Democratic party, raised $765 from 21 donations made mostly around Christmas 2007 by board workers. All were small contributions of $10 to $50.

City employees are barred from pressuring subordinates to make political donations.

One former board official, Jon Del Giorno, received dozens of donations from subordinates when he ran for City Council while still on the job. Just after Thanksgiving 1999, board workers began sending small checks to a committee formed by Del Giorno, then the board's administrative manager.

More donations poured in and by January 2001, Del Giorno had amassed 32 board employee contributions totaling $2,155. A month later it was clear why: Del Giorno was running for a Staten Island Council seat as a Democrat.

Photo caption: Katherine James

During the time he was collecting donations from board employees, Del Giorno was one of the top administrators at the board. Then in April 2001, the board began requiring all employees to go on leave if they ran for office.

On July 16, 2001, more than a year after he began raising funds and three months after he was supposed to begin his leave, Del Giorno took a brief leave from the board.

He lost the Sept. 25, 2001, primary and was soon back on the board.

After he quit, his mother, Sheila Del Giorno, got a job at the board, becoming the $87,452-a-year chief clerk of Staten Island in 2006.

The board likes to hire relatives. A review of records shows 18 employees either related to politicians or to other high-level board employees. Some are part-timers who pull in the overtime each election.

The sons of the late Queens Democratic boss Tom Manton and the late Staten Island Democratic Chairman John Lavelle work there. Disgraced U.S. Rep. Vito Fossella's mother is the $73,819-a-year voter registration coordinator, and his brother is a part-timer.

Some Board of Elections employees work it both ways. District Leader Maryrose Sattie, a $92,728-a-year deputy chief clerk in Brooklyn, has two relatives on the payroll - Thomas, a $66,702 associate staff analyst who got his job through the Brooklyn Democratic party, and Lisa, a $39,440 administrative assistant, a Staten Island Democrat.

Board administrator Pamela Perkins, wife of state Sen. Bill Perkins, is also a district leader. So is Anna Torres, a Bronx Democrat and wife of former Assemblyman Luis Diaz. Torres makes $85,153 as a deputy chief clerk.

The board also has no policy on regarding the hiring of relatives, said spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, former wife of Bronx Democratic Councilman Joel Rivera.

gsmith@nydailynews.com