When he took office, Andew Cuomo said he would make New York the progressive capital of the nation. But he has gotten in bed with billionaires and hedge funders who have a vested interest in privatizing public education.
Since Cuomo took office, he has pressed regressive tax policies and school funding cuts, which have hurt low wealth districts the most. These districts serve poor and minority students. Cuomo also is pushing charter schools and vouchers, straight out of the Right wing playbook.
His backers' agenda is blocked by parents, school boards, teachers and, of course, the teachers' union, which failed to endorse his reelection.
So, Cuomo is now in full out attack on public schools, teachers, and the teachers' union. The attack is well described by Dr. Bill Cala, Superintendent of the Fairport Central School District, a suburban district near Rochester. His comments are well worth a read:
https://word-view.officeapps.live.com/...
Here is an excerpt:
"This week’s State of the State address by Governor Cuomo was what most of us expected. It was an all-out assault on public education, teachers, children, families and local control. It appears that breaking teachers is his solution to poverty, income inequality and inadequate school funding.
Let’s be clear that the governor’s agenda has nothing to do with what is good for kids. Far from it. It is what is good for his financial supporters: the corporations who are making billions of dollars on the tests, the texts, the technology, the corporate professional development and the data collection, retrieval and distribution.
As this country gets poorer and poorer and the few get richer and richer the pride of our nation, its public schools, are being disassembled while Bill Gates, The Waltons, The Koch Brothers, Eli Broad and other scavengers are feasting at the table of greed."
Yes, 1%ers are feasting at the table of greed and fake Democrat Andrew Cuomo is feeding them.
Superintendents, school boards, parents, teachers and students are rallying to stop him. It won't be easy, because Cuomo has big money behind him. Let's support our public schools and let's expose Cuomo for the plutocrat he is.