Now that mayoral control has expired, there are already rumblings that Joel Klein should be fired. According to the Daily News, "Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will name Dolores Fernandez to the board. Diaz said Klein is free to reapply for his job."
Am I gleeful that Klein will feel the same pangs that teachers feel when their jobs are in jeopardy, or that ATRs feel when they apply for jobs they should be entitled to? Yes.
The question is, if Klein is fired and reapplies for his job, who would hire him? At 62 years of age, he would have been put out to pasture as a teacher. And at a cool quarter million a year, 2.5 times to top teacher salary, he could be replaced by 5 shiny new chancellors, just as senior teachers are replaced to save money.
I don't want to grind Klein into the dust at this low point of his career as chancellor, so I'm going to help him out. Thanks to Joel, tens of thousands of teachers, including me, have had to constantly work on our resumes as the ax hovered over our heads. To show my gratitude, I'd like to offer Klein my services in helping polish his resume. If you're reading this, Mr. Klein, feel free to use any parts of it you think will help you in your quest to regain your position.
Joel I. Klein
Tweed Courthouse (for now)
New York, NY
Tweed Courthouse (for now)
New York, NY
Objective: To find a position as chancellor of a large school system so that I can lick the boots of a billionaire and do his bidding while rubbing elbows with the city's elite.
Experience: Spent seven years as Chancellor of the country's largest school system.
- Achieved continual declining approval ratings, thus taking the heat off the mayor who actually makes most of the bonehead decisions.
- Cut spending on frivolous items such as school buses for children in the middle of an arctic freeze.
- Created an atmosphere of fear and loathing among NYC teachers.
- Broke large schools into many smaller ones, thus increasing the number of administrators who can walk around with their clipboards while making $150,000 a year plus bonuses.
- Managed to maintain the highest class sizes in the area despite a lawsuit mandating and funding smaller class sizes.
- Filled holes in the school budget with money earmarked for lower class size.
- Gave lip service to listening to parental concerns through such methods as parent surveys. Implemented an online version of the survey as a way to save 6 tons of paper that no one would have ever read anyway.
- Cut the number of relevant stakeholders in the education system down to two (Bloomberg and myself), thus further streamlining the system.
References: Available upon request. Contact Michelle Rhee, Al Sharpton, and Caroline Kennedy.
3 comments:
It would be funny except it is true.
Unfortunately, there's little likelihood of Mr. Klein being replaced, with every borough president but one having declared support for his continued tenure.
Hey, here in my beloved city, our reform has meant making sort of smaller schools...but making them 6-12 in grades -- with only one principal. A couple of years back it was making K-8 schools out of K-5 and 6-8 schools. Again, one principal.
Well, that's not entirely true. Two of the new K-8 schools were actually housed in separate, K-4 and 5-8 buildings, with an assistant principal at each and one principal for both buildings. Remember though that the whole idea of the K-8 changes...was that they were getting rid of middle schools. You know, by creating new ones. @@
So, our administration has found a way to have fewer principals in the long run...I guess to make room for more UPPER administration, since the principals and teachers clearly need lots more people telling them what to do.
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