criticism of a post by Chris "Citizen" Stewart denouncing Rebecca Gagnon and
the rest of the "privilege posse" Ira Jourdain, KerryJo Felder and others for
voting in favor of reallocating funds for a 7 hour day for high school
students. I've seen the joint letter of union presidents, including Michelle
Weiss, who argued that the reallocation was a gift to the privileged at the
expense of the poor because the lion's share of secondary students are in SW.
What kind of argument is that? This reallocation business is not a simple zero
sum political equation that Stewart and his union allies make it out to be.
Going from a 6 to 7 class period day was done to better serves the needs of
students across the district, not just in SW Minneapolis. It helps more
graduate on time, or early, and enables students to take more elective classes.
That could actually help the district attract and retain students and win
popular support. Should we cut off the district's nose to spite its face? When
did the unions start carrying water for the Chris Stewart and other champions
of charter schools and the neoliberal industrial relations agenda masquerading
as a school improvement agenda?
In the context of negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement, the union
put forward a school governance agenda to which I have no objection, except
that it not germane to the teachers employment contract and there was no push
back on the "reformers" industrial relations agenda which has a hugely
disparate impact on people of color. That is a glaring example of inequitable
governance that could be properly addressed in contract negotiations.
The smear campaign against Rebecca Gagnon around reallocation was instrumental
in blocking her endorsement. That was clearly a win for the Astro-turf school
reformers. The endorsed candidates for at-large school board are untested,
their views related to the corporate school reform agenda unknown to all but a
few. Kimberly Caprini ran in 2014 for a district seat. Josh Pauly has the
resume of an education policy wonk, but without a writing portfolio that I can
find. Even questionnaires used in screenings are not readily accessible to me
and the rest of the pubic at-large. I suspect that most of the DFL delegates
really have no idea what kind of leadership for the school district they
endorsed.
It happens that Josh Pauly is hot-wired to pro-charter public policy
organizations, including MinnPost and the Center for Policy Design, which
supports his PeopleSourcedPolicy organization and the Citizen's league and
Civic Caucus. He happened to get his start in education work with KIPP academy,
according to his link-in account, which may be of little import or much. He is
also director of books on wings, and the treasurer and board member of that
organization just happens to be a policy advisor to Democrats For Education
Reform. This would not be the first time that all of the unions backed "reform"
candidates, knowingly or not, such as Chris Stewart in 2006 and Carla Bates in
2012. Chris Stewart was groomed and packaged for DFL nomination by the SEIU in
2006, Bates was endorsed by SEIU but not the teachers union in 2008, and SEIU
employee and DFL endorsed candidate Iris Altamirano teamed up with Don Samuels
and billionaire backers in a failed attempt to kick the DLF endorsed incumbent
Rebecca Gagnon off the board in 2014.
-Doug Mann, Folwell neighborhood