Blogger Jonathan Pelto in Connecticut read about the “school reform plan” proposed by conservative Republican Governor Chris Christie and realized that it was virtually identical to the one proposed earlier this year by Connecticut Governor Malloy.
Under this plan, the Legislature was asked to authorize a Commissioner’s Network, “a system in which Stefan Pryor, Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, would be given the authority to take over a series of local schools, remove the existing staff, ban collective bargaining and turn the schools over to some third-party who would then be exempt from the state’s laws requiring competitive bidding and limiting the use of consultants.”
Odd couple indeed. The allegedly liberal governor in Connecticut and the ultra-conservative governor in New Jersey. Same plan.
There is one link between them. Malloy’s State Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor served previously as Cory Booker’s deputy mayor. Booker is a favorite of the Wall Street hedge fund crowd, and he is a leading advocate for privatization of public schools.
Maybe it is no coincidence after all.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Yes, yes, yes…. BFF’s from Yale. Evidently if you graduate from Yale you are an expert at everything from economic development to testing to teacher quality…you name it..you can run it.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/newark_mayor_cory_bookers_aide.html
What chaps my hide is that everyone in this merry band themselves benefitted from a decent education with competent teachers.
Alan – You get the prize! If anyone wants to know what all these reformers are up to, read Alan’s comment. It’s as simple as that!
The intent of my words is to underscore the hypocrisy of corporatists undermining the very thing that benefitted them. Most parasites have enough sense not to kill their hosts.
To Diane and Alan:
This is most likely the Jeff Klaus, Sr. VP of Webster Bank and husband of Dacia Toll, friend of Stefan Pryor. Pryor and Toll started Amistad Academy together and Achievement First, a charter management company. Dacia is now the Co-CEO of Achievement First.
Comments by Klaus are not in support of public schools or public school teachers. They usually drip with disdain. He calls schools and teachers failures. He referred to a public high school project as propaganda and he left this comment to an educator in reference to the value of test scores:
“Have you no responsibility for the education of children other than showing up in the morning at some building?”
He has never taught and he is not an educator. He trolls sites defending the charter chain movement.
Readers have posted these comments to him:
I NEED to get my hard-earned money out of Webster Bank ASAP!!!
I agree!! I need to transfer my money out of Webster bank ASAP! Wow!
Jeff…it will be my pleasure to boycott Webster bank and make the hundreds of teachers I work with, along with parents or acquaintances, aware of your stance.
Mr. Klaus, do you think all teachers boycotting Webster Bank, after you have disparaged them, would be good for business?? Perhaps that is a question that can be asked to James C. Smith, CEO of Webster bank directly.
I am presently closing my account at Webster Bank.
Letters of concern and/or to details as to why you are closing your Webster account should be directed to:
James C. Smith
Webster Bank, CEO
Office of the President
145 Bank Street
Waterbury, CT 06702