State Senate Leader John Flanagan wants to lift the charter cap for New York City as part of a budget deal. Flanagan lives on Long Island, where his constituents don’t want charters. Apparently, he thinks charters are for children of color. He should take a look at how charters have hollowed out major cities, stripping resources from the public schools, cherry-picking the best students, and harming the schools that most students attend.
“There are currently 216 charter schools in the city serving 106,600 students, or 10 percent of the public-school population.”
Flanagan’s spokesman said it was time to take “a global look” at the NYC school system. Good idea. If they did, they would realize that adding charters cripples the system as a whole.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Flanagan needs to be removed from office. Abandoned his district, constituents, and children long ago.
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If they did a real “global look” they might discover Finland and other top scoring PISA countries are not publicly fund private education through autocratic, for profit, opaque corporations. In fact, they might discover that teachers are treated like the professionals they are and trusted to do their jobs without micromanagement from the ignorant top down starting with the White House.
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Flanagan is for Flanagan and I’m guessing he wouldn’t dare suggest charters should be the norm on Long Island. I’m not sure how he keeps his Senate seat, other than constituents are not paying attention.
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My central ideas remain much the same…and available for challenge. Democrats do well in places where teachers are treated with respect, because the respect often inspires reciprocal response and enthusiasm. Obama and his mistake of Gates-Arne Duncan has to be dealt with….by democrats. Much louder than has been the case.
Hostility towards people like Flanagan logically follows.
It does not dawn on much of the press that this is the case.
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How much money have charter operators contributed to this public servant’s campaign fund?
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This guy Flanagan needs a drug test because this guy is seriously dillusional. He wants to lift the charter school cap for NYC?? Is this guy serious? He wants a “global” look at NYC schools?? What exactly does a global look mean and is Flanagan having dillusional thoughts indicating a “global” look??
This guy has been fighting and harrassing everyone involved in the NYC school system including Diblasio our Mayor. He once never dared to speak to Bloomberg in the same tone he speaks with Diblasio. Yet, on long Island this jerk has nothing to say to the hundreds of thousands of parents who continue to chant “we do not want corrupt charters here!!! Flanagan needs to get a drug check in fact, I believe we need to start drug testing all of our politicians.
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