Education progressives win big in Bridgeport, vs. machine Democrats and Paul Vallas allies

That was a busy week for New York City education.
First, there was Bill deBlasio's 40 percent primary victory in the Democratic mayoral primary (& UFT/Thompson's clinging to wish for a divisive run-off). Second, there was the whistleblower Francesco Portelos 3020(a) termination case at the Department of Education at 49 Chambers Street.
Other big news: in the progressives, the real reformers of education, for the people, for public education, against charter schools/privatizing profiteering, won big in Tuesday Board of Education elections in Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut.

This in from the Working Families Party of New York:

And in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in a truly astonishing result, a slate of Working Families-backed progressives swept the elections for the Board of Education against the "No Child Left Untested" corporate-funded education "reform" machine Democrats. We had the Connecticut Education Association, Diane Ravitch and some great volunteers. They had the privatizer-in-chief Paul Vallas. A very sweet win indeed, given the havoc he wreaked in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Haiti...


You can read more on the dramatic electoral events up there in Jonathan Pelto's "Education Reform Industry goes down to stunning defeat in Bridgeport." His analysis:

In many respects the primary was really a referendum on the education reform efforts of Governor Malloy, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor and Bridgeport’s faux superintendent of schools, Paul Vallas.

The three endorsed candidates were supporters of Mayor Bill Finch’s failed attempt, last year, to change Bridgeport’s City Charter to do away with a democratically elected board of education and replace it with one appointed by Finch. Simon Castillo was the chairman of the political action committee that spent a record amount in the failed referendum campaign and Brandon Clark, a teacher the charter school, at Achievement First – Bridgeport, essentially served as one of the referendum campaign’s spokesman.

The reputation of the existing majority on the Board of Education, including its chairman, Kenneth Moales Jr. and their support for Paul Vallas was a driving force behind the challenges.

Read more of Pelto's article here.

The besting of the Vallas forces even drew the attention of the Atlantic Magazine: "Did This Little Election Strike a Big Blow to Education Reform? Progressives and unions say a primary in Connecticut last week shows momentum is turning against the corporate-backed charter-school movement."

Alas, Pelto's most recent story says, "Mayor Finch will hold onto Vallas as long as he can."

School System Wrecker Vallas Ousted By Conn. Judge's Order

Ding dong, the witch is ... Bridgeport schools superintendent Paul Vallas has been ousted from his position. He had refused for several months to attend any class necessary toward developing the authentic credentials to lead a school system. Thus, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ruled that he must leave his post. Per several news reports, here and here, for example, he has refused to leave his post.

He has had a storied career of school leadership controversy. From 1995 to 2001 he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chicago Public Schools, creating more controversy toward the end of his term there, before Arne Duncan really started attacking the Chicago Schools.

In the early and mid-2000s he sometimes ran for elected office and other times toyed with the idea. His highest goal was Illinois governor, but he lost to the inestimable Rod Blagojevich in the Democratic primary. --Yes, Democratic; note that! The liberal party has spearheaded privatization destruction of urban school systems, all in the name of "reform," informed by "free market" thinking principles.

For a short stint beginning in 2002, he led Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's schools. There he led ambitious efforts to outsource school management to all kinds of institutions outside the municipal school system, non-profits colleges, for-profit institutions.

Not long after, he moved on to Louisiana to destroy its school system, exploiting the natural disaster and collapse of governmental leadership in New Orleans, Louisiana, as he led the creepily named "Recovery School District of Louisiana." He supposedly created "gains" for the system, but observers called it a financial scam. He served there from 2007 until 2011, although not without flirting with political ambitions elsewhere.

And after another natural disaster, an earthquake, he did brief work for the Haitian president to "reform" Haiti's educational system.

On June 28, the judge finally removed Vallas from his post at the head of Bridgeport schools.
Yet, worse than merely being without education credentials, his record at each of the city school systems was initiating a legacy of school mismanagement. The outcome has been administrative disorder, and teachers a precarious work experience, and for students a precarious learning experience. More specifically, his record at all these urban school systems has been the mass firing of teachers, particularly teachers of color. Merely removing him from his post is not enough. Maybe there is some way to bring him up on charges for his serial abuse of school systems.

Regarding the rule of law and the final determination that he should go, one commenter at Diane Ravitch's report ("Vallas Will Fight Judge’s Order to Go") on his case wrote of the sweet justice at work,

The judge is certified. She ruled. This is now on Malloy and Pryor.

They wrote the law, signed it and now they want special deals.

Bottom line:

They wrote a law just for Vallas
It was part of Malloy’s bill
It passed and Malloy signed it
It took effect July 1, 2012
He needed simply to take a 13 month school leadership program
He didn’t even try until February of 2013
He took an independent study
He didn’t even register as a student
He broke the law
Pryor broke the law
He lost
The judge rulled he cannot continue
We are the constitution state
No one is above the law
Including all friends of Stefan, Dannel and Arne
The “elite” are not free to break the law
And we are drawing the line
No more