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Now Tom Menino supports charter schools
By adamg on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 3:57pm
To seek legislation to expand the number of charter schools in Boston; move comes the day after opponent Michael Flaherty called for more charter schools and the day before opponent Sam Yoon planned to call for more charter schools.
But unlike their plans, Menino's proposal calls for the charter schools to be overseen by the Boston School Committee.
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Comments
Election Year
It must be an election year! My take on this. If Menino hasn't improved the schools in 16 years, he sure won't do it in the next four. It's time for new leadership - not a mayor who flip-flops when others come up with fresh ideas.
who is change
are you saying Flaherty is change? he's always been for neighborhood schools until he runs for mayor and his polling must tell him otherwise. also, last week he comes out against 2 Suffolk County-only holidays. all his supporters are Suffolk County employees. the only change about him is what the pollsters tell him to change.
Agreed
I agree that Flaherty is guilty of flip-flopping too. Sam Yoon is clearly the candidate of change in this race. He seems to see the city's problems in a new, fresh way and offers real solutions. However - that said, Flaherty still would be an improvement on Menino.
Amen
As I read Flahertys plan yesterday I thought the same thing. How can his core base still rally behind him. He is against local holidays and is against neighborhood schools (although he double speaks nicely on his website). I just think Yoon is the better candidate for the simple fact he is consistent. Flaherty seems to have both tried to reinvent himself as the "change" candidate and also get in bed with a polarizing self interest group in the BFD union. Just all seems a bit odd.
Good to see the Mayor open up to Charter Schools and now I hope headway is made in bringing back neighborhood schools. Will be interested to see Yoons ideas.
Chahtah? We can do chahtah.
There's one tiny sticking point with charter schools in Boston:
So that would be a charter school in what sense, then?
Amusing article.
You know, maybe it is time
You know, maybe it is time that the mayor did get out of office. He appearently can't run his own campaign and has to use Michael Flaherty's platforms. I wonder where Menino's vote is going, seeing as he thinks Councilor Flaherty has better ideas. I know how I'm voting, and it isn't for Mayor Menino.
Mayor has a strong platform, balsa wood not needed
I would doubt that the Mayor has to borrow anything from his opponent's "platforms". This proposal was being worked on long before his opponents rushed out their proposals in advance of Hizzoners speech. Menino's proposal is different and more substantive. It calls for "in district" charters as a way of addressing the issue of low performing schools. In this manner, funds would be kept within the school system, as opposed to being drained out of the system, as has happened with charters (the Mayor has always said he is not opposed to charters, but to the state system of financing. He recently helped the Boston Renaissance School secure financing for a new location, I believe)
Of course, the Menino education record contains a number of successes - "pilot" schools such as the Boston Arts Academy and Tech Boston, the turnaround of the Jeremiah Burke, which was threatened with receivership as he took office, upgrading technology throughout the schools, the Boston Schoolyards Initiative, Read Boston, Write Boston, the current effort to upgrade school lunches, enlisting the colleges to help Boston students stay in school, and much more. For all these reasons, the City received the prestigious Broad Award for school improvement several years ago.
So when candidates and their supporters try to say that "nothing" has been done in 16 years, maybe they haven't been around our city enough, or maybe they're just not aware. Happy to help.
I think it's funny that
I think it's funny that Menino says "The status quo won't work...we've got to make real changes." He's been in office 16 years. If he's not the status quo, then who does he think the status quo is? With declining or stagnant high school graduation rates, he now thinks that something must be done, and then he chooses a strategy that he's been opposed to for many years? It seems really disingenuous to me.