Here is an expanded version of the third item from my “Albany Insider” column from Monday’s print editions:
Call it paper warfare.
Upset with a state Senate Republican budget plan to boost charter schools, the powerful city and state teachers union bombarded GOP senators last week with nearly 20,000 faxes and 1,500 phone calls warning the plan would damage neighborhood public schools, a city United Federation of Teachers spokeswoman said.
Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) received over 9,000 of the taxes. Another 700 went to Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) and about 500 to Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn).
The Senate Republicans in a non-binding resolution passed last week outlining their budget priorities proposed eliminating the statewide cap on charters and unfreezes per pupil charter tuition.
The GOP is also pushing a number of other changes sought by the charter school industry.
The unions say the changes could cost city public schools over $183 million from increased charter tuition and payments for charter personnel and over $88 million for the increase in rental assistance.
“We are not going to stand by and let anyone perpetrate the (federal Education Secretary Betsy) DeVos agenda on our public schools,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. “Teachers, parents and community activists will stand against any attempt to hurt our students and our schools.”
In addition to the faxes and phone calls, the unions also sent out social media messages accusing specific GOP senators of “bringing the DeVos agenda to New York.”
Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif was nonplussed. “We hear from groups and individuals from around the state very day,” he said.
Reif noted the teacher unions have long opposed the Senate Republicans’ support of charter schools.
Reif also argues that while the Senate Republicans want to eliminate a statewide cap on charter schools and make other charter-friendly changes, they are also pushing to increase funding for public schools beyond what Gov. Cuomo is proposing.
Cuomo has also proposed a number of pro-charter measures but does not seem to have been targetted last week by the unions.
