9486 in the collection
City prepares to spend nearly $1 billion on education consultants as it fires 4,100 teachers
Reader Comment: I beg the DAILY NEWS to rerun this article on page one. A billion dollars winds up on page 21 between ads. I know a kindergarten teacher who has conultants come to class to explain the best way to staple Mr Yellow Sun to the bulletin board. ISYN This teacher has a Masters Degree and 60 credits past that. She should quit and consult, but she might have to turn in her degrees.
Reader Comment: The consultants come to the schools and it's obvious that they have no hands-on, classroom experience and they tell teachers what and how to teach. Meanwhile, you've got 25-30 kids in a class that are A.D.H.D., A.D.D., and C.R.A.Z.Y., but none of those consultants can consult the teachers on effectively and successfully teaching kids with those kinds of issues. . . .
Ohanian Question: How many of these consultants are crunching data for a new evaluation system that judges teachers by student standardized test scores, a system Arne Duncan refers to as "multiple measures?"
Poll Results
Do you think $1 billion is too much for the city to spend on consultants?
Yes, that seems outrageous. The money would be much better spent on keeping teachers in the classroom. 96%
No, consultants are important when it comes to making sure all the city's education needs are being met. 3%
I'm not sure. 1%
By Rachel Monahan
As the city prepares to lay off 4,100 teachers, the Department of Education is planning to spend nearly $1 billion on consultants next school year, a new analysis shows.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer blasted the agency's budget as a "black hole" and took issue with the 6% increase on consultants, after his office pored over the latest budget documents.
"There are a whole lot of troubling increases that have nothing to do with spending money in the classrooms," said Stringer, noting the city's plans to lay off teachers was "political gamesmanship" and the "solution" may lie in the $20 billion Education Department budget.
"This is a black hole that gets darker and deeper as time goes on," he added.
"It's time to shine some light on what these services really are."
Stringer's analysis, which agency officials dismissed, found the agency is increasing its spending on consultants under the central administration budget by $25 million - with $23 million of the increase spent on computer services.
The analysis also found increased spending on consultants to recruit teachers by nearly $1 million -- while the city is cutting teachers.
Education Department officials have said that it's necessary to continue recruiting teachers to shortage areas like special education even during cuts.
City Education Department officials rejected the analysis, saying that most of the consulting budget is for required services and directly goes to serving students with disabilities.
"The Borough President either fails to recognize an important fact about these consultant costs or he is intentionally misleading people," Chancellor Dennis Walcott said. "The truth is that over $840 million of the $981 million he cites are dedicated to direct services for our students with the vast majority going towards our students with disabilities which are services that are required under the law."%A0
Agency officials also disputed that the computer contracts are increasing so steeply, saying instead that they underestimated expenses last year.
Jose Gonzalez, whose sons Alvaro, 10, and Allan, 9, attend Public School 73 in the Bronx joined a protest against budget cuts held yesterday at City Hall.
"We want a better education for our children. How are we going to do that?...They're really wasting money on consultants and contracts," said Gonzalez, a member of the Coalition for Educational Justice.
— Rachel Monahan
New York Daily News
2011-05-13
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2011/05/13/2011-05-13_city_prepares_to_spend_nearly_1_billion_on_education_consultants_as_it_fires_410.h
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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