Albany's failure on education reform costs millions

April 4, 2010 by JAMES T. MADORE / james.madore@newsday.com

ALBANY - Fearful of angering the teachers' union in an election year, lawmakers are unlikely to remove limits on charter schools and overhaul teacher tenure so that New York has a better chance of winning millions of dollars in federal education aid, experts said.

Last week, the state lost out on as much as $700 million when it placed 15 out of 16 finalists in Round I of the federal Race to the Top competition. Applications for Round II, and another $700 million, are due June 1.

Saying the money would offset his proposed $1.1-billion cut in state aid to schools this year, Gov. David A. Paterson is urging the legislature to lift the cap on charter schools and rescind an expiring law that bars linking teacher tenure to student test scores.

Failure to take these steps in January, he said, made the Empire State an also-ran in President Barack Obama's biggest education initiative, in which Delaware and Tennessee captured $100 million and $500 million, respectively.

Group: School cap led to aid loss

However, officials at the New York State United Teachers union said the charter school cap was just one of several factors contributing to the loss. The state also received poor grades for a statewide data system, lack of support for the $831 million application from both school districts and unions and restrictions on teacher terminations.

The 600,000-member NYSUT has long opposed charter schools, arguing crucial tax dollars are being diverted from public education. The state, union officials said, should focus on improving troubled schools, not help establish private competitors.

Lawmakers are loath to upset NYSUT and risk losing campaign donations and workers, experts said. Whoever wins control of the State Senate in November will help redraw legislative district boundaries for the next 10 years. To have a say, Republicans must retake the Senate.

"There's absolutely no chance legislators will deal with charter schools," said Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters. "They cannot afford to raise the ire of NYSUT."

Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, agreed, saying "for politicians, alienating the teachers' union in an election year is like Superman looking for kryptonite. You don't want to do it if you don't have to."

That was the attitude on Jan. 18, when Paterson ordered lawmakers to be in the Capitol on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Leaders of the legislature's Democratic majorities said they had reached a compromise to lift the charter school cap - but never brought the bill to a vote.

Paterson, now under investigation for allegedly interfering in a domestic violence case involving a top aide and lying under oath about free World Series tickets, has less clout. He dropped his election campaign in February after just six days.

"We need the money . . . it will help us alleviate our deficit," he said, referring to $9.2 billion in red ink for 2010-11. "We cannot afford the luxury of ideological differences getting in our way."

Still, NYSUT president Richard Iannuzzi warned against "trading values for dollars." He said the union opposes authorizing more than 200 charter schools without first requiring greater accountability of how money is spent and educational standards are met. There are 176 such schools statewide, including five on Long Island.

"Once we have a Quality Charter School Law, then the cap should be on the table for discussion," said Iannuzzi, who taught in the Central Islip schools for 34 years.

A commitment to transparency

Senate Democrats, led by Sen. John Sampson of Brooklyn, have a similar argument. Spokesman Austin Shafran said, "If we're going to attempt to maximize our eligibility for federal funds by raising the charter school cap, there must also be a strong commitment to greater transparency, fiscal accountability and parental input."

Shafran and others downplayed the cap's role in Race to the Top funding, saying Arizona, which has 502 charter schools, fared poorly in the competition. New York lost 12.6 points because of the cap; it fell 46 points short of top-ranked Delaware. "Raising the charter school cap would not have resulted in us winning," Shafran said.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) declined to comment.

Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), the minority leader, backs an expansion of charter schools. If one isn't granted, he predicted New York would again be shut out of federal cash it sorely needs. He said "the cap should be included in budget talks," which are more urgent now that the April 1 start of the fiscal year has passed.

Behind the Race to the Top

WHAT'S AT STAKE

New York will try again this summer for a federal grant in the Race to the Top competition. The state lost out on up to $700 million last week.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

June 1 for Round II

SIZE OF GRANT

$350 million to $700 million; New York sought $831 million in Round I.

NUMBER OF AWARDEES

10 to 15; Delaware and Tennessee are excluded because they received grants in

Round I

STANDING IN ROUND I

New York scored 408.6

on a 500-point scale; first-place Delaware scored

454.6 points.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

New York lost points for its statewide data system; not raising the cap on charter schools; having only two-thirds of school districts and 60 percent of local teacher unions endorsing the grant application, and barring the use of student test scores to help determine teacher tenure.

PROPOSED CUT IN STATE AID TO SCHOOLS

More than $1 billion in Gov. David A. Paterson's proposed 2010-11 budget.

- COMPILED BY JAMES T. MADORE

SOURCES: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; NYS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION