David Paterson

This year, CUNY and SUNY colleges have both raised tuition, cut classes, stopped hiring adjuncts, and in general have tried to cut costs everywhere they can. Well, the Daily News is reporting that while students are paying tons more in fees and tuition, SUNY has spent $29.9 paying overtime through November of this fiscal year (which does not end until March 31).

This new finding means that SUNY is exceeding last year’s total, while other schools have cut overtime.

SUNY spokesman David Belsky said new Chancellor Nancy Zimpher is trying to develop a system-wide plan to cut costs “through greater innovation ...continue reading]]>

David Paterson

This year, CUNY and SUNY colleges have both raised tuition, cut classes, stopped hiring adjuncts, and in general have tried to cut costs everywhere they can. Well, the Daily News is reporting that while students are paying tons more in fees and tuition, SUNY has spent $29.9 paying overtime through November of this fiscal year (which does not end until March 31).

This new finding means that SUNY is exceeding last year’s total, while other schools have cut overtime.

SUNY spokesman David Belsky said new Chancellor Nancy Zimpher is trying to develop a system-wide plan to cut costs “through greater innovation and reduced bureaucracy.”

SUNY “sees its strategic planning process as an opportunity to gather information about its assets and resources, and to generate ideas that will help us align those resources with the economic needs of our state,” Belsky said.

Belsky also pointed out that since April 2008, SUNY has lost more than $424 million in state subsidies, despite the fact that SUNY is boasting about having thousands of more students every semester.

In one instance, Farmingdale College paid out $134,540 last year in combined overtime to their supervisor of grounds and two grounds workers. Their overtime pay actually topped what the three earn in combined base pay, which is a pretty decent $112,519.

SUNY also has 28 different campus police departments, each one having its own administrations, requisition policies, guidelines, uniforms and insignias. The report shows that there are 27 different police chiefs and 20 deputy or assistant police chiefs on the SUNY payroll who make a combined $4.4 million. Most of them make over $100,000 a year.

The report shows that if the SUNY police system were to be consolidated, it could save the entire state $3 million.

School kids everywhere can get up and cheer; it was finally proven that homework is harmful to one’s health. Research shows that homework is making kids nearsighted.

Kids these days have way too much homework! Students in first to sixth who attend rigorous schools are much more prone to developing myopia, or near-sightedness. Even children who do not have a family history of poor vision are developing myopia, according to prominent Upper East Side pediatric eye doctor, Mark Steele.

“There’s a correlation between private schools and nearsightedness,” Dr. Steele told The Post. “The kids in private school do more reading, and that puts ...continue reading]]> School kids everywhere can get up and cheer; it was finally proven that homework is harmful to one’s health. Research shows that homework is making kids nearsighted.

Kids these days have way too much homework! Students in first to sixth who attend rigorous schools are much more prone to developing myopia, or near-sightedness. Even children who do not have a family history of poor vision are developing myopia, according to prominent Upper East Side pediatric eye doctor, Mark Steele.

“There’s a correlation between private schools and nearsightedness,” Dr. Steele told The Post. “The kids in private school do more reading, and that puts them at increased risk. Youngsters doing a lot of reading tend to become nearsighted. The bulk of students get it between the ages of nine and 14.”

When nearsighted kids shows up in his Upper West Side office, Steele said, he often diagnoses them as “private school” or “selective magnet school.”

“Does your child go to Hunter College Elementary?” he jokes with parents, who often admit he’s right.

Kids with achy eyes and prescriptions for glasses often do hail from the city’s toughest schools, he said. “These schools screen for intelligent kids, who probably would have read more no matter what.”

“There’s been a huge shift toward more homework,” said Will Craig, educational director for Partners with Parents, a Manhattan-based tutoring firm. “Some homework in kindergarten is now expected almost across the spectrum.”

Is doing all this homework really worth it?

City Councilman Charles Barron

Today was a special day for CUNY, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials came to the Borough of Manhattan Community College to celebrate the rebuilding of their Fiterman Hall, which was badly damaged on September 11, 2001.

However, during the first part, City Councilman Charles Barron and CUNY Trustee Jeffery Wiesenfeld has a shouting match, yelling “You shut up!” “You’re a disgrace!” and “You’re a sickening racist!”

The word is that Councilman Barron had to sit in the audience and felt disrespected that he wasn’t originally seated at the front with the other officials. He was also upset ...continue reading]]>

City Councilman Charles Barron

Today was a special day for CUNY, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials came to the Borough of Manhattan Community College to celebrate the rebuilding of their Fiterman Hall, which was badly damaged on September 11, 2001.

However, during the first part, City Councilman Charles Barron and CUNY Trustee Jeffery Wiesenfeld has a shouting match, yelling “You shut up!” “You’re a disgrace!” and “You’re a sickening racist!”

The word is that Councilman Barron had to sit in the audience and felt disrespected that he wasn’t originally seated at the front with the other officials. He was also upset that Mayor Bloomberg did not mention CUNY students or the City Council at all during his speech.

The Daily News offers this exchange between Barron and Wiesenfeld, which started after Barron expressed his unhappiness:

This prompted CUNY trustee Wiesenfeld to shout down Barron from his seat in the front row. “You’re a disgrace!” Wiesenfeld shouted. Barron then yelled back, “You just be quiet. Ain’t nobody talking to you. Whether you like it or not, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. You sit there. You shut up!”

Wiesenfeld, a former staffer for Mayor Ed Koch and Sen. Al D’Amato, was a senior aide to Governor Pataki, who appointed him to the CUNY board.

A principal with the firm of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, Wiesenfeld was confirmed by the state Senate in 1999 despite allegations that he referred to blacks as “savages” and Hasidic Jews as “thieves.”

Wiesenfeld later told the News, “This individual has no civility. He has no personal decency. All of us can have a persecution complex. My parents, my wife’s parents were in concentration camps, I’m sure his ancestors were subject to slavery, but that is no excuse for his ill-fitting conduct in public, the way he deals with other public officials.” And Barron said Wiesenfeld was “a right- wing, racist, ignorant fool,” who “should not be sitting on the board of trustees of CUNY.”

Check out the video here.

An average kindergarten class

While all class sizes rose this year, high school students and kindergartners are particularly feeling the increase in class size.

Supposedly, in 2008, the average size of an English class was 24.7 students, although most high schools have at least 30 students in each class. The average number is up to 26.4 this year, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Education. The number of students in high school science classes has also risen from 26.1 to 27.4.

There was also a spike in enrollment in kindergarten classes, by about 5 percent, which is contributing to the increase ...continue reading]]>

An average kindergarten class

While all class sizes rose this year, high school students and kindergartners are particularly feeling the increase in class size.

Supposedly, in 2008, the average size of an English class was 24.7 students, although most high schools have at least 30 students in each class. The average number is up to 26.4 this year, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Education. The number of students in high school science classes has also risen from 26.1 to 27.4.

There was also a spike in enrollment in kindergarten classes, by about 5 percent, which is contributing to the increase in class size. In Manhattan, kindergarten enrollment rose by 9 percent, the biggest in all five boroughs. The increase in kindergarten class size went from 20.2 to 21 in Manhattan.

The largest rise was in District 3, located on the Upper West Side, by 15 percent. This was figured out in an analysis by advocacy organization, Class Size Matters.

Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, said that 38 percent of kindergarteners are in overcrowded classrooms with more than 25 students. First graders are also experiencing an increase in size, to 22 students.

“It’s very sad,” Ms. Haimson said, “since most experts believe that these are the two most important grades to keep class sizes low.”

Although the city’s budget cuts are responsible for the increase in classroom size, another issue is that enrollment has increased for the first time in a decade, according to William Havemann, a schools spokesman. Apparently, the city closed a bunch of kindergartens that were part of the day-care system of the Administration for Children’s Services, due to budgetary decisions. The result: hundreds of students enrolling in public schools, at the worst possible time.

Because of the cuts, Mr. Havemann said, there are 1,650 fewer teaching positions this year. “We are encouraged by the fact that we have seen relatively modest increases in class size, at a time when other cities struggling with the same challenges have seen worse,” he said.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced in a statement on Wednesday that, starting immediately, New York City public schools would begin to use test scores to gauge which teachers should or should not receive tenure.

This move has been bitterly opposed by the teachers union, which claims that this is putting too much weight on standardized exams, such as the citywides, and regents exams.

Although most do agree that standardized tests are not a good measure of students’ capabilities, the state government still puts a ton of stock in them. Standardized tests are used to decide teacher and principal bonus ...continue reading]]>

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced in a statement on Wednesday that, starting immediately, New York City public schools would begin to use test scores to gauge which teachers should or should not receive tenure.

This move has been bitterly opposed by the teachers union, which claims that this is putting too much weight on standardized exams, such as the citywides, and regents exams.

Although most do agree that standardized tests are not a good measure of students’ capabilities, the state government still puts a ton of stock in them. Standardized tests are used to decide teacher and principal bonus pay, assign A through F grades to schools, which schools are shut down, and which schools get more funding. Now, the mayor is even using these scores to decide which teachers should be fired and which should not.

Mayor Bloomberg and secretary of education, Arne Duncan, also called on the state legislature to makes a number of changes in the education system, that would help New York State compete for funding in the so-called Race to the Top federal grants. Bloomberg also states that the Legislature should now require all districts to better evaluate teachers and principals with “data-driven systems,” which help with the Race to the Top grants.

“The only thing worse than having to lay off teachers would be laying off great teachers instead of failing teachers,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “With a transparent new evaluation system, principals would have the ability to make layoffs based on merit — but only if the State Legislature gives us the authority to do it.”

The Bloomberg administration also takes the stance that the state should allow teacher layoffs based on performance rather than seniority, as it is now.

However, Sheldon Silver, the assembly speaker, said that the mayor would not find satisfaction in Albany and should negotiate with the United Federation of Teachers.

The teacher’s union successfully lobbied the legislature to ban the use of test scores in tenure decision for teachers hired after July 1, 2008. This law will however, expire next year. If the Legislature does not renew this law, the city gets the power to hire or fire teachers based on student test score performance.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg

While New York Governor David Paterson tries to convince the state legislature to cut $3.2 billion from the state budget, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants to cut an additional $1.7 billion from the city budget.

Mayor Mike has said that he wants to cut $500 million from this years budget and $1.2 from next year’s.

His plan would involve cutting 1.5% of the education budget, 2% from the “uniformed services” (i.e. cops, firefighters), and 4% from everything else this year.

Next year, the education system would have its budget cut by ...continue reading]]>

Mayor Mike Bloomberg

While New York Governor David Paterson tries to convince the state legislature to cut $3.2 billion from the state budget, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants to cut an additional $1.7 billion from the city budget.

Mayor Mike has said that he wants to cut $500 million from this years budget and $1.2 from next year’s.

His plan would involve cutting 1.5% of the education budget, 2% from the “uniformed services” (i.e. cops, firefighters), and 4% from everything else this year.

Next year, the education system would have its budget cut by an additional 4%, as would uniformed services and an 8% cut across the board for all other agencies.

Bloomberg has asked agency leaders to have new budget proposals submitted by the beginning of December.

The news comes right after Bloomberg’s re-election and is obviously something that he was holding off on announcing until he was sure he would still be mayor next year.

These budget cuts are similar to the ones that Bloomberg wanted earlier this year before Congress passed the Obama Stimulus bill which helped New York City save around 20,000 public sector jobs.

In total, the education budget is expected to be decimated if both Bloomberg and Paterson get the budget cuts that they are pushing for. Paterson is seeking to cut the state education budget by around half a billion dollars.

NYC Chancellor Joel Klein

In the third year of the A-F grade system, the Education Department has handed down plenty of As but numerous C’s and D’s as well.

In total, 40 schools received better grades than they did last year but 67 schools received lower grades and six schools received an F. In total, 7% of New York City public schools received a D or an F.

While the grades are largely based on test scores, the Education Department claims to also use student progress, graduate rates, and overall performance. Since the grades were introduced in ...continue reading]]>

NYC Chancellor Joel Klein

In the third year of the A-F grade system, the Education Department has handed down plenty of As but numerous C’s and D’s as well.

In total, 40 schools received better grades than they did last year but 67 schools received lower grades and six schools received an F. In total, 7% of New York City public schools received a D or an F.

While the grades are largely based on test scores, the Education Department claims to also use student progress, graduate rates, and overall performance. Since the grades were introduced in 2007, the city has closed nearly thirty public schools, nine of which were high schools

The city will close down the bottom 5 percent of the school in order to get federal money that is promised by the No Child Left Behind Act.

While some schools improved, 67 of the city’s got worse. Of the schools that received A grades last year, 15 dropped to a B, 36 “B-schools” dropped to a C and 4 to a D, 11 of the “C-schools” dropped to a D. The school that received an F this year had gotten a B grade last year.

This downward progress calls into question the true nature of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Bloomberg education program. While public elementary and middle schools did well under the grading policy, 97% received an A, many critics argue that the system is broken.

Critics have argued that the grades for elementary and middle schools are superficially high because their grades are based on test scores which has led schools to “teach the test.” The result is poor high school performance because kids are not fully prepared.

Earlier this week we reported on a story of a study showing that 90% of CUNY students who graduated from public high schools cannot do a simple math problem.

Last week we discussed the record numbers of people that were applying to Community Colleges and City University of New York schools in general but a new study suggests that the colleges have their work cut out for them.

According to a report done by CUNY itself, 90% of students who graduated from city high schools and are entering a four-year (not two-year) CUNY school cannot do a simple algebra problem. More than a third of the students tested could not convert a fraction into a decimal.

More than 70% of the CUNY system is made up ...continue reading]]>

Last week we discussed the record numbers of people that were applying to Community Colleges and City University of New York schools in general but a new study suggests that the colleges have their work cut out for them.

According to a report done by CUNY itself, 90% of students who graduated from city high schools and are entering a four-year (not two-year) CUNY school cannot do a simple algebra problem. More than a third of the students tested could not convert a fraction into a decimal.

More than 70% of the CUNY system is made up of students who graduated from New York City public schools.

The shocking results stunned city officials who had been thinking that programs like the No Child Left Behind plan were helping students when in fact those programs forced schools to prepare students for tests, not educate them on the fundamentals.

While so many New York City public school did perfectly fine in high school, officials are now hopefully realizing that the system that the city has in place misrepresents the reality of how well students are doing.

Many in the government are already calling for quick reforms of the education system…so that a college student can do an algebra problem.

State Senator Carl Krueger

Despite New York State’s growing $3 billion deficit, state senate leaders did not respond to Governor David Paterson’s speech to a joint session of the legislature as he would have liked.

As New York faces an economic collapse similar to the one in California, state legislators are doing what they have always done, avoiding any unpopular yet necessary actions that could threaten their jobs, while the Governor avoids pushing too much and is all too willing to compromise.

New Yorkers have come to expect the state legislature to avoid any unpopular actions but ...continue reading]]>

State Senator Carl Krueger

Despite New York State’s growing $3 billion deficit, state senate leaders did not respond to Governor David Paterson’s speech to a joint session of the legislature as he would have liked.

As New York faces an economic collapse similar to the one in California, state legislators are doing what they have always done, avoiding any unpopular yet necessary actions that could threaten their jobs, while the Governor avoids pushing too much and is all too willing to compromise.

New Yorkers have come to expect the state legislature to avoid any unpopular actions but many are starting to worry that this inaction will result in a California-like financial mess.

The biggest problem that Senate Democrats see with the $3.2 billion in budget cuts is that around $1 billion of that will come out of the education and hospital budget. Senators like Carl Krueger have responded with alternatives to the plan but the one-time fixes that he has proposed will only lead the state into more debt.

Legislators are expected to continue to debate the issue on Monday but few are optimistic about the tough but necessary cuts being made. The New York Times has reported that David Paterson has already shown signs of backing down.

Carl Krueger, who also serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee in the state senate, will likely win this battle. A win for him would simply mean that New York will continue to have financial problems even after the current economic crisis is over.

For the first time ever, New York City’s community colleges are no longer accepting everyone that applies because all six are filled.

Since the economic crisis, more and more people are returning to school and more and more people can no longer afford to attend a four-year school. Thousands were turned away by community college this fall semester with admissions at an all-time high.

The news isn’t all bad. Because of the lack of jobs, countless people have gone to college who normally wouldn’t have in order to have a better chance in an incredibly difficult job ...continue reading]]>

For the first time ever, New York City’s community colleges are no longer accepting everyone that applies because all six are filled.

Since the economic crisis, more and more people are returning to school and more and more people can no longer afford to attend a four-year school. Thousands were turned away by community college this fall semester with admissions at an all-time high.

The news isn’t all bad. Because of the lack of jobs, countless people have gone to college who normally wouldn’t have in order to have a better chance in an incredibly difficult job market, many of them to two-year schools.

This also comes as good news to the Obama Administration who created more funding for community colleges across the country and expect to see an extra five million students graduate from two year schools instead of skipping college completely. In New York, however, a budget crisis will soon force the state to cut the budgets of community colleges. Earlier this year, New York City raised tuition of all city schools.

Despite the budget crisis and the fact that the existing six colleges will see their funds get cut, New York is continuing to fund construction of a new community college in Manhattan but only expect it to fit around 3,000 students.

As we noted earlier this week, David Paterson intends to cut $3.2 billion from the state budget, nearly a billion of that from the education budget.