This letter comes in response to a post by TeacherBiz, aka
Ani McHugh.
Dr. Ravitch, I worked for 29 years for NJEA and six for PSEA. I worked with local teacher associations in some
of the poorest cities in both those states (NJ and PA), including
Chester-Upland.
What is happening in CU is nothing short of a criminal assault on the poorest of the poor, led by politicians who have allowed the state to have a funding formula which penalizes
poor districts and then criticizes them for “failing.”
Corbett, a
former prosecutor, should himself be prosecuted for failing to
enforce the state constitution, which calls for a “thorough and
efficient” system of public schools. By contrast, New Jersey’s
Supreme Court forced the cowards in the legislature to fund poor
districts at the same level as the wealthy districts, with some
impressive results.
I love your work. And oh,
by the way, Ani McHugh is my daughter, of whom I am inordinately
proud. Robert P. Broderick
Beverly, NJ
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great post!
Mr. Broderick states it so clearly, the path to action. Thank you, sir.
John Hanger is running for governor of PA. I emailed him with some questions and he actually wrote me back quite quickly. Here is part of what he wrote:
“Thank you so much for what you are doing to fight the privatization of our schools. I will stop it cold! I have met Diane Ravitch, have a signed copy of her book, and read it. It should be must reading for any Governor.
I am afraid the Democrats have also caused this rise of corporate education and none of my competitors are willing to take it on directly. I am speaking directly and bluntly about it.”
Dare we hope….?!
Wow, that is some amazingly straight talk from a politician. Here’s his website (where donations are accepted):
http://www.hangerforgovernor.com/
Mr. Broderick,
Our 12,000 + members agree with you and hope that you will join Save Our Schools NJ and help us continue fighting to protect fair funding and high quality public education in NJ!
http://www.saveourschoolsnj.org
Failure to fund basic education.
John Hanger calls Philly Public School conditions Unconstitutional