Re-Claiming a Moral Profession in Unethical Times
A bitter irony unfolded in New York's budget process this year as Governor Cuomo, in his allegiance to hedge fund campaign contributors, managed to push through ethics reforms alongside an education reform package that stands as the most unethical affront to public education in recent memory.
The Governor openly shirked his constitutional obligation to provide equitable school funding as set forth by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York ruling. The $1.4 billion increase is short of the $2 billion recommended by the NY Board of Regents and well short of the $5.6 billion cited by the Campaign for Educational Equity as necessary for constitutional compliance. The Campaign for Educational Equity has written a scathing rebuke of the 2015-2016 state education budget:
Among the egregious violations of constitutional requirements that the 2015-16 state budget perpetuates are the following: It continues to defer full foundation funding for the costs of a sound basic education; it reverts to the notorious "shares agreement" for funding New York City schools; it continues the unconstitutional gap elimination adjustment; it revives the teacher evaluation penalty provision that threatens essential school aid; and it fails to provide appropriate funding for pre-K.
The governor's decision to emphasize test scores in teacher evaluation presents a glaring disincentive for teachers working in schools with high concentrations of students who have historically performed poorly on standardized tests including students living in poverty, English language learners, and students with disabilities. The Governor is denying equitable funding to the most under-resourced schools while bending school policies toward test preparation and away from enriching curriculum. Schools already struggling are being set up for charter school takeover, an outcomeactively pursued by the governor's most notable campaign contributors.
The governor's political process set a new standard for evading democracy. Eleanor Randolph of the New York Times referred to the final budget negotiations as "New York's All Male Oligarchy." Randolph was criticizing the antiquated "three men in a room" culture in Albany, but just as accurately could have been referring to theRe-Claiming a Moral Profession in Unethical Times | Colin Schumacher:
