Posted on 03/27/2007 5:53:57 AM PDT by PissAndVinegar
Was it a threat or not?
In his second State of the City address, Mayor Robert Duffy said he will tie the city’s $119 million annual school aid to results.
“I care about our children graduating from school and that should be and will be our funding criteria for our schools,” he said.
Duffy honed in on the district’s 50 percent four-year graduation rate. The graduation rate in Rochester is worse than in Buffalo, which spends less money per pupil.
“We have the worst graduation rate in the state and that has to change. Clearly money is not the issue here. It's about results,” the mayor said.
But for Duffy, money is an issue. The city is facing a $21 million budget gap.
Duffy said he wants input at district headquarters, something previous mayors have been denied.
School board member Willa Powell said the mayor is angling for control of the district. Duffy has already come out in support of the governor’s plan to give the mayor two appointees to the board.
Powell and board member Malik Evans stopped short of calling Duffy’s comments a threat to cut funding.
“I didn't hear that from him explicitly tonight. Obviously, there are things he wants to know and the district should be forthcoming with him,” Evans said.
“Well he didn't say he would and he didn't say he wouldn't. He's expressed concerns and we all express concerns,” Powell said.
The district has already drafted a budget for next school year, and counted on full city funding.
13WHAM asked a city spokesman what will happen if Duffy does not input on school matters.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” said Gary Walker, adding that Duffy did not threaten to cut funding. “You don’t go into negotiations making threats.”
Duffy would need the support of City Council to cut funding to the district.
Duffy's a Dem, asking for results from city schools - is there such a thing as a DINO?
While I take issue with some of his past comments / policies, I've come to like Duffy more and more...
I was not aware that any democrat had any sense at all when it came to spending tax dollars. To read of this is truly astounding, and I say good on him for doing it.
Break up those big city districts into competing and rival districts responsive to parents.
There is an easy solution...Cut the crap out of the school system, go back to teaching the basics, and if need be, use the ciriculum from the 1940's. We used to have good schools in America. Why do we keep re-inventing the solution? The answer is easy - go back to basics. Get rid of all extra-curricular activities until the school as a whole responds and improves. If we need to get rid of crappy teachers, let's do it. Most teachers are dedicated people that deserve a good salary, but the bums and their union need to hit the road.
It is high time ALL caring parents with a high school diploma remove their children from public schools and homeschool them, even if it takes revising priorities, mom staying home, and doing without. The kids are the future, and they are being brainwashed. Of course this has been going on for at least 50 years, so what I call brainwashing, (Situational Ethics and Values Clarification), probably is just normal to most parents these days. An extremely sad state of affairs, and does not bode well for the future of freedom in the USA. It also explains much of what we Americans are facing today.
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