In the past two days, there has been speculation in the media that I might be a candidate for governor on behalf of the Working Families Party.
I have not sought this designation nor am I running for any political office. There are many well-qualified candidates, and I expect that WFP will choose one of them.
Regular readers of this blog know that I had major surgery on May 9 to replace a knee that I injured when I fell in April. For the balance of this summer, I look forward to walking, not running!
I hope that WFP mounts a vigorous campaign, especially on the issue of education, pointing out that the Cuomo administration has tolerated highly inequitable funding, limited the ability of districts to tax themselves to meet their needs, and shown preference for charter schools–which enroll 3% of the state’s children–over public schools. Our children are our future.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
You should be appointed Secretary of Education!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
+1,000,000,000,000,000!
Someone with a public education background must oppose Cuomo!
“If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.” – D. Ravitch, 2014
Michael Paul G., I thought of that line but it was already taken!
Actually, Diane, we need you to do EXACTLY what you’re doing–spending 100% of your time healing, writing, posting and blogging. Your recent post which highlighedthe growing resistance to ccc (coomon core crap) and testing is a testament to what you have achieved. ¡¡¡Viva la revolucion!!!
Thank you, Shelley. It suits me.
shelley: what you said.
😎
Ditto.
I agree with shelley. Your influence doing what you are doing by maintaining your blog is generating a nationwide discussion that serves educators, policy-makers, parents and children greater than running (or walking) for office might provide.
In your case, it provides an opportunity to get a leg up, however stiffly, on the critics and opponents of public education and addresses issues that are much (k)needed . . .
Will the Working Families Party be running a candidate for President? Keep getting well,, Dr. Ravitch..
I wish you would run!!!
Read yesterday that the working families party had a meeting with Cuomo – they’re deciding whether to endorse him or put up another candidate. I WILL not vote for Cuomo under any ticket. He is NOT for working people.
I won’t vote for Cuomo. In his entire term, has he ever visited a public school? New York has an extremely inequitable funding system–huge disparity between rich and poor districts. Cuomo just doesn’t like public schools or teachers.
Cuomo is an angry little man who will run anyone over and prop anyone up who serve to build his political career. Teachers and administrators and public schools have become a thorn in his side, but I”m afraid there are so many thorns now embedded that the hypocrisy from those thorns has left him losing too much political blood, and he is weakening as a result.
And he deserves to.
Cuomo was scheduled to visit our school a few months ago. There was a flurry of activity – buildings and grounds crews sprucing up the place – fixing the lawn, painting rooms, throwing items that were stored in the back of the auditorium (and other places) into a big truck. There were workers around all weekend. The event was cancelled a few hours before he was set to arrive. I’d love to know how much all that preparation cost our district. Id love to know if he ever really intended to show and if he has done this before. It says a lot about his priorities.
Chris, I hear he has never visited a public school since his election
Hmmm… Cuomo must have a doppleganger in Chicago… angry little man who will run anyone over and prop anyone up who serve to build his political career… Robert Rendo, I could continue to quote you and just exchange Cuomo for Rahm in Chicago
Hannah,
Rahm? Andrew? Biden? Obama?
What’s the real difference?
There is no difference. A neo-lib is a neo-lib.
Rotten is rotten.
Take the quote and please make it yours. . . . I don’t own the language.
But Cuomo and others are trying vainly to own us . . . .
Dammit! Can I say that on your blog?… I don’t care, I’ll say it anyway, DAMMIT! I knew it was too good to be true. I completely understand, your health comes first. Even when I read the story last night I had doubts about the accuracty of it.. but I was hoping that it was true and had already declared I’d go door to door to support you.
So ok, if not you, who? How about Patrick Sullivan?
Typo: “accuracy”
Then New York teachers and parents must Go Green. We cannot support Cuomo and his insane APPR and VAM even if WFP endorses him. Does he realize that due to his reforms, high school teachers are writing final exams for courses they don’t teach? That only high school algebra, English 11, global studies, US history, and regents science teachers plus teachers in math and ELA in grades 3-8 are evaluated on state tests? That by law students are not held accountable for CCSS test scores but teachers are? John Stewart has an impolite word for this.
Although I do think focusing on your health comes first, a big smile was on my face when I read the news reports, and was thinking this was a possibility. You would have had my vote, without hesitation!
Diane,
Speculating that you might run was fun. I was ready to go knocking on doors.
I hope the WFP does not cave in and select a formidable candidate to knock this rotten apple cart on his keister.
Sometimes we are more effective when we are on the outside. In this case, let’s keep lobbing those rocks at Andy’s crystal palace.
Wish I was a fly on Andy’s wall when an aide showed him the article.
If Cuomo gives WFP the statewide public campaign finance program they want, WFP will most probably endorse him. And lose the support of many in the process.
You don’t have to actually run. Just say you are so he losses some sleep. LOL
Then we can watch the money poor in from the Hedge Fund billionaires who own Cuomo.
The idea here is to get those oligarchs to throw away a few million dollars in lies as they ramp up a campaign to fight you. Then you can change your mind due to recovering from the surgery—after they spent ten or twenty million.
It could be fun.
Sh! Don’t let’em know the plan!
It was lovely while it lasted, but it’s hard to see why you’d want to be governor of NY. Keep doing what you’re doing and look after yourself.
This, however, was fascinating:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/29/1302750/-If-New-York-s-Working-Family-Party-wants-to-be-taken-seriously-Zephyr-Teachout-ain-t-the-ticket
Diane, I’m glad to hear that you aren’t running for governor anywhere, because we need you as the Secretary of Education!
You’ve made the better choice politically, also. Although you’re an inspiring symbolic candidate, WFP needs to put someone forward to seriously challenge Cuomo on his entire bought-and-paid-for, anti-working-people agenda.
I’d like to see an ambitious political candidate on that line, preferably somebody who has held office as a Democrat. We’ll have to run to win. I was glad to hear they were considering you, because you can give them good advice, but I’m enormously relieved to read your answer.
Be well. Ice is still a good thing.
Other than her condition from surgery, why wouldn’t have Diane been able to SERIOUSLY challange Cuomo?
I’m confused.
I’m sorry you’re not running but people who care about public ed and are appalled at what’s been happening will perhaps find consolation in the prospect of UFT-MORE ( Movement of Rank and File Educators) teacher-activist Brian Jones running for Lt. Governor on the Green Party line.
One way or another, practical, progressive ideas about schools and AUTHENTIC reform have *got* to be a part of this race.
NY MoveOn members support a progressive challenger to Gov. Cuomo | MoveOn.Org | Democracy In Action http://front.moveon.org/ny-moveon-members-support-a-progressive-challenger-to-gov-cuomo/#.U4fW4k4hYBM.twitter
I’m disappointed at your refusal to run, but you are a dynamo at anything you do, and we are transformed by it . . . . .
It’s fine to say no.
It is nice to be asked . . .
Take care of your knee!
Health is #1. Without health, we have nothing. GLAD you’re taking care of yourself… and your pen is mightier than any sword!
You would be great Diane; but I understand that you need to take care of yourself. I feel that way, now too. People ask me if I am going to run for an office. I am a H&S President now and I am tired. Plus I am caring for my mother-in-law.,husband and my special needs child. I can’t possibly do any more. I advocate every chance I get and it is tiresome. I am glad that we had some small victories this week, though. At any rate, take care and you are in my prayers for a speedy recovery. Maureen
While many of us would delight in having someone like Ravitch supported/backed by the WFP and catapulted to such an important office, Diane you are needed just where you are.. you represent THE NATION where you are. So, who is out there in NY would be a good governor ???… someone who would visit schools and take genuine interest in public school issues around the state?
I think Brian Jones has potential. May he never become corrupted one he completes his PhD in Urban education and re- enters the realm of politics more fully.
Up until this point, Brian has been true blue for educators, and his leadership in MORE is nothing less than honorable.
I’d like to see him continue in the same path. Brian is a great orator and critical thinker, and he would be a contender.
” the Cuomo administration has tolerated highly inequitable funding, limited the ability of districts to tax themselves to meet their needs, and shown preference for charter schools–which enroll 3% of the state’s children–over public schools.”
I can’t argue with your point about charter schools, although it does need to be said that the most onerous and preferential rules with respect to charters are only in effect in New York City, not the rest of the state. That these exceptions continue to be made is something I blame many Democratic legislators for, not just the governor.
Your first two points are trickier and interrelated: the districts that spend the most in New York State are almost entirely self-funded via local real estate taxes. The poorer districts outside New York City are funded with a larger share (but far from entirely, and in much lower proportions than many other states) of state funds. New York spends more per capita on state school aid than any other state, and virtually every district spends at least $16,000 per student–“poor” is relative. New York also has by far the nation’s highest local + state + Federal tax burden.
In other words, it is hardly surprising that the property tax cap was met with such popular support and has faced so few challenges to date. Of course we’ll likely see more challenges down the road as districts have to divert more and more instructional dollars to pay for pensions.
“Of course we’ll likely see more challenges down the road as districts have to divert more and more instructional dollars to pay for pensions.”
How does New York State manage pensions linked to public education?
In California, we have CALstrs and CALprs. CALstrs is the pension system for teachers and administrators who worked in the public schools and that includes the public colleges. Other state employees, for instance the office staff of the public schools, belong to CALprs (the CALprs system is worth almost $258 billion).
Both systems are funded by employee, employer and state contributions and school districts do not pay those pensions when someone retires. In fact, when a teacher retired, the district stops paying anything to that person.
Contributions paid into CALstrs are set by law as a percentage of what the employee is paid monthly. Currently, that percentage is 8% for the teachers and administrators.
Unlike Social Security, CALstrs has money in its accounts. As of April 30, 2014 CALstrs had almost $184 billion dollars in real cash. But Social Security taxes were spent by Congress as they came in and those benefits are paid out of general taxes through IOUs, because Social Security has no money. Congress squandered the SS tax trust fund fighting World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
But the fake education reformers have their eyes on teacher retirement plans too. The clues are there just like there were clues leaked from Arne Duncan that the next move would be to turn teacher training over to the private sector too. The fake education reformers want to do away with the teacher retirement systems in America and divert that money into their bank accounts too.
If California has $185 billion in its CALstrs system, the total for all fifty states must be between $750 billion to more than one trillion, and the greed the oligarchy has no limits. They want it all. That much is obvious.
The first domino to fall will be public education. The second will be public colleges. Then they will go over all of the public pension plans with just one state, California, holding $441 billion in assets that have already been paid into the two systems: Calstrs and Calprs. They are considered underfunded becasue projections say they don’t have enough on hand with projected growth to pay out 100% of future obligations for the next 30 years, but it will be a long time before they have to cut retirement checks to match what they will have in their accounts—decades.
But the pirates who are the fake education reformers don’t want to wait decades to destroy those retirement systems because they want that money as soon as possible.
The public schools were one of the first steps in this war to rob the poor and the middle class and pay the rich so they will become more power with more wealth than even Midas could dream of. This is the agenda of the neol-liberals.