“It’s really no choice at all,” says Robert Cotto, who plans to vote against the “Resolution Requesting Commissioner’s Exercise of Statutory Authority Relative to John C. Clark Turnaround Committee,” an item on the Hartford Board of Education’s special meeting agenda for April 8, 2014.
The false choice, Cotto is referring to, is that which was presented to the Clark Turnaround Committee: parents and teachers requested to see more than only the Friendship School after which they might model Clark as it undergoes its re-branding; this did not happen.
In March, Morgan Barth of the Connecticut State Department of Education vehemently denied that it had issued an ultimatum to the committee, but if consensus was not reached on the vote for a school model, the CSDE would be stepping in to assert its authority over teachers, parents, and other community members. Barth and other CSDE representatives have said at various times that they favored the Friendship Model. As voting members, they have been able to block consensus all along.
On March 27, there was one vote against the Friendship School as the lead partner with the Clark School. Although the Hartford Public School’s resolution states “there is significant support within the Clark community expressed by parents and other stakeholders to partner with Friendship,” some of the “yes” votes have been attributed to the absence of choices given to the Clark Turnaround Committee.
By allowing the Commissioner to exercise his “statutory authority,” parents, teachers, and the community would no longer have any formal input in what happens to the Clark School. Tomorrow’s agenda states that this move would mean:
develop[ing] and impos[ing] a turnaround plan for Clark that includes Friendship as the lead partner with responsibility for the day-to-day management and administration of Clark; and […]if the Commissioner exercises his statutory authority pursuant to Connecticut General Statute § 10-233h(d) and develops and imposes a turnaround plan for Clark that includes Friendship as the lead partner with responsibility for the day-to-day management and administration of Clark then the Board will negotiate the financial impact of the plan with the exclusive bargaining units for Clark certified employees in accordance with Connecticut General Statute § 10-153S(c).
This vote would recommend (or not) that the superintendent approve this resolution.
This meeting will be at the Simpson-Waverly School at 5:30pm. It is open to the public, but there is no time scheduled for a public hearing on the matter.
Chris
This is very strange and sudden. The email with attached agenda that was sent to all HPS staff last week has only one item on it which is a presentation and review of next year’s budget. When and why was a decision made to change the agenda? When will the new agenda be sent to HPS staff? The whole thing stinks but as everyone knows when a fish stinks it stinks from the head downward.
Kerri Provost
You would think that there would be more deliberation when children’s educations are involved.
You are correct that HPS sent out a different agenda last week. To be specific, it was sent to press at 1:34 PM on Friday. That message was recalled EXACTLY 20 minutes later at 1:54PM.
The new agenda, rumored to have been in the works for one week, was sent to me from Linda Williams in central office (Vivian Dorfman usually sends the agenda) at 2:51 PM today (Monday).
Something is rotten.
Larry Deutsch
Any Board of Education is responsible for providing a quality PUBLIC education for ALL students. Many of us feel this is NOT happening with these outsourcing and privatization attempts as at Clark, with “Friendship”, Capital Prep with Perry, etc. But City Council is told it can play no role except to OK at least a minimum budget for anything the Board decides. Any ideas for City Council action? Can we legally question if “PUBLIC” and “ALL” is being adhered to? — Larry Deutsch, Minority Leader, Hartford City Council
Bruce Rubenstein
The BOE is controlled by Republican free marketeer Mayor Segarra who requested the Republican endorsement when he ran for Mayor and he has voted for privatization before.He appoints 5 out of 9 BOE members and usually has his “way” with them.Council has no say in this selection above,but the people do,if they will in fact do something.If I was a parent with school children in Hartford,I would be organizing a sit in in support of free PUBLIC education right in the Mayor’s office,and organizing against his re-election,but that would require actually organizing and fighting the system wouldnt it?
Shonta' Browdy
Oh trust me Hartford parents including myself are keeping a watchful eye on City Hall!