News
NY: NYC Parents Vs. Wall Street-Backed Charter Schools. Parents and public school advocates staged a dramatic protest outside the New York City Department of Education on Tuesday against a bid, backed by Governor Andrew Cuomo and financed by Wall Street lobbyists, to evict special needs students in order to make room for charter school expansion. The demonstration is the most recent development in the battle against corporate education reform in the city, where ”strong-arm” tactics by Cuomo and the charter school lobby have overriden an attempt by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to curb the growth of privately-funded charters. Mint Press News
LA: Money could be delayed during review of LSU deals. Federal officials have warned Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration that they will withhold $307 million in Medicaid money from the state if no agreement is soon reached on whether the state’s financing plans for the privatized LSU hospitals meet federal guidelines. . . Most of LSU’s charity hospitals were turned over to private managers, but federal officials haven’t decided yet whether they’ll agree to the money arrangements used to pay the new hospital operators. Chron.com
FL: Column: Educate before debate on private toll road. It is insufficient for the county to be angering residents by holding a series of what it erroneously labels town hall meetings, and then limiting debate on how to address traffic along the 33-mile corridor between Zephyrhills and U.S. 19. At a March 10 public meeting, county officials ignored what should have been the main subject: all 18 options they say were reviewed for addressing what is expected to be a massive increase in corridor traffic in the next 20 years. Officials focused solely on the elevated toll road option, even though we won’t know if its a viable option until next month when its finances and general design are available for review. Tampabay.com
WI: Privatizing Wisconsin schools is no answer – Opinion. . . For the past 20 years, we have been messing around with Milwaukee’s school system through a series of charter and voucher schemes that have not been proven to have better outcomes than public schools. Despite it being part of their intended purpose, these schools have done nothing to close the achievement gap between African-American and white students. Yet the Wisconsin Legislature continues to work to dismantle public education through a series of new laws to further expand charter and voucher schools statewide. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel