NYC's failing schools need a mayor who will take on the selfish teachers union
Fixing our public schools is one of the most important jobs facing New York City's next mayor: At $41 billion, education spending is the single largest item in City Hall's gargantuan $115 billion budget.
But in both televised debates of the Democratic mayoral primary, my opponents offered only platitudes and teachers-union talking points.
Last Thursday, I was the only candidate on stage to argue against the foolish class-size mandate secured by the United Federation of Teachers.
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The policy may sound good, but as I noted it will cost $1.6 billion — and having to suddenly hire thousands of teachers who are less experienced and less qualified than the teachers we have will undercut any possible benefit of smaller classes.
When it comes to education, we can't afford to repeat the same tired slogans and tinker around the margins.
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But the UFT's self-interest makes real reform impossible.
Fighting for kids — and taking on the adults who run our educational system for their benefit — has been my life's mission.
It's why I helped start Teach for America and Democrats for Education Reform, and why I served on the board of NYC KIPP charter schools for more than two decades.
Now that I'm running for mayor, I am the only candidate who has made fixing our schools a core part of my pitch to voters.
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I have a simple message to the city's parents: Our Department of Education is ripping you off — and lying about it.
The facts are damning: Every year, New York City spends upward of $40,000 per student — more than any other district in the country — but nearly half (46%) of our fourth-graders lack basic reading skills.
Shockingly, fourth graders in our nation's poorest state, Mississippi — which spends just $12,000 per student — are now reading at a higher level than their peers in the five boroughs.
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The results for New York City's black and Latino kids are especially alarming. In 2024, 58% of black fourth graders and 62% of Latino fourth graders in New York City public schools lacked basic reading skills, compared with 27% of white students and 25% of Asian students.
Fourth grade is a critical time, because that's when the curriculum pivots from learning to read to reading to learn.
Most children who struggle to read as fourth-graders fall further and further behind — and end up living lives of poverty and hardship.
But to cover up its failure, NYC's public schools lie to parents, telling them their children are doing fine and passing them along year after year.
That's why I've pledged to end this 'social promotion' after third grade. If the school system hasn't taught a child to read after five years, it needs to keep trying.
The good news is we know what works: Establish high standards and a rigorous curriculum, hold all schools and educators accountable, reward excellence and give parents greater freedom to send their kids to schools of their choosing.
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Against the objections of the UFT, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg expanded high-quality charter schools and other innovative public schools, made all schools take responsibility for their students' performance and greatly expanded parents' choices.
The results spoke for themselves: The portion of fourth-graders lacking basic reading skills declined from 53% in 2002, Bloomberg's first year in office, to 38% in 2013.
NYC's next mayor should expand on Bloomberg's approach.
Charter schools, which educate about 15% of New York City's public-school students, are rigorously evaluated every five years. They must demonstrate that they're delivering for their students — and if they're falling short, they can be put on probation or even closed.
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All public schools should be held to those standards. As mayor, I would establish similar accountability for every school in the system.
To make sure we hire and retain the best teachers in the country, we need to pay teachers based on how much they inspire and educate our kids, not on their years in the system or the number of certifications they have.
The next contract with the UFT must include differential pay based on merit and other measures that actually benefit our kids. And as mayor, I'd fight to overturn the UFT-engineered class-size mandate.
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Unlike the other candidates, I can make that promise — because I'm not seeking the UFT's endorsement, and therefore I don't owe it anything.
It's not too late for my fellow Democrats to join me in standing up to this self-serving special-interest group. Our children's future depends on it.
Whitney Tilson, a businessman and education activist, is a candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary.
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Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Congress is holding emergency briefings on security after Minnesota shootings
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress will attend emergency briefings this week after the murder of a Minnesota state lawmaker brought renewed fears — and stoked existing partisan tensions — over the security of federal lawmakers when in Washington and at home. The suspect in the attack had dozens of federal lawmakers listed in his writings, in addition to the state lawmakers and others he allegedly targeted. The man is accused of shooting and killing former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs and wounding another lawmaker and his wife at their home. The shootings come after credible threats to members of Congress have more than doubled in the last decade, the troubling tally of an era that has been marked by a string of violent attacks against lawmakers and their families. In 2011, Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot and wounded at an event in her Arizona district. In 2017, Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot and wounded as he practiced for a congressional baseball game with other GOP lawmakers near Washington. In 2022, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul was attacked in his home by a man who broke into their San Francisco home. And in 2024, two different men tried to assassinate Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. All four survived, some with serious injuries. But those attacks, among others and many close calls for members of both parties, have rattled lawmakers and raised recurring questions about whether they have enough security — and whether they can ever be truly safe in their jobs. 'I don't have a solution to this problem right now,' said Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a friend of Hortman's who received increased security after the attack. 'I just see so clearly that this current state of play is not sustainable.' Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said lawmakers are 'clearly at the point where we have to adjust the options available to us.' The U.S. Capitol Police's threat assessment section investigated 9,474 'concerning statements and direct threats' against members of Congress last year, the highest number since 2021, the year that the Capitol was attacked by Trump's supporters after he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat. In 2017, there were 3,939 investigated threats, the Capitol Police said. While members of Congress may be high-profile, they do have some resources available that might not be available to state and local lawmakers, said Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who was a member of the South Dakota state Senate for 10 years before he was the state's governor. In the state legislature, 'it just wasn't feasible all the time' to have increased security, Rounds said. As threats have increased, members of Congress have had access to new funding to add security at their personal homes. But it is unclear how many have used it and whether there is enough money to keep lawmakers truly safe. 'Resources should not be the reason that a U.S. senator or congressman gets killed,' Murphy said. Instead of bringing lawmakers together, the Minnesota shootings have created new internal tensions. Smith on Monday confronted one of her fellow senators, Utah Republican Mike Lee, for a series of posts on X over the weekend. One mocked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who ran for vice president last year. Another post said of the murders, 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way.' Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Vance Luther Boelter, the man accused of assassinating Hortman and her husband, as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota, where voters don't list party affiliation. Smith talked to Lee outside a GOP conference meeting as soon as she arrived in Washington on Monday. 'I would say he seemed surprised to be confronted,' she told reporters afterward. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also called out Lee's posts on the Senate floor, saying that for him to 'fan the flames of division with falsities, while the killer was still on the loose, is deeply irresponsible. He should take his posts down and immediately apologize to the families of the victims.' Lee's office did not respond to a request for comment. Lawmakers were already on edge before the shootings, which came less than two days after Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in California. Officers restrained Padilla and put him on the ground. Angry Democratic senators immediately took to the Senate floor Thursday afternoon to denounce Padilla's treatment. 'What was really hard for me to see was that a member of this body was driven to his knees and made to kneel before authorities,' said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. 'This is a test. This is a crossroads.' At the briefing Tuesday, Senate Democrats say they plan to ask security officials, as well as Republican leadership, about Padilla's removal from the press conference as well as their protection against outside threats. 'I certainly hope to hear leadership responding in a profound way,' said New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who said she had been informed that her name was also on the suspect's list, said she wanted to hear recommendations at the briefing on how to improve security. 'And we can take those recommendations,' Baldwin said. 'But I think, both with the president and his administration and with members of Congress, that we need to bring the temperature down. There's no place for political violence ever. And the rhetoric — words matter.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Boston Globe
31 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Congress is holding emergency briefings on security after Minnesota shootings
Advertisement In 2011, Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot and wounded at an event in her Arizona district. In 2017, Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot and wounded as he practiced for a congressional baseball game with other GOP lawmakers near Washington. In 2022, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul was attacked in his home by a man who broke into their San Francisco home. And in 2024, two different men tried to assassinate Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up All four survived, some with serious injuries. But those attacks, among others and many close calls for members of both parties, have rattled lawmakers and raised recurring questions about whether they have enough security — and whether they can ever be truly safe in their jobs. Advertisement 'I don't have a solution to this problem right now,' said Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a friend of Hortman's who received increased security after the attack. 'I just see so clearly that this current state of play is not sustainable.' Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said lawmakers are 'clearly at the point where we have to adjust the options available to us.' The U.S. Capitol Police's threat assessment section investigated 9,474 'concerning statements and direct threats' against members of Congress last year, the highest number since 2021, the year that the Capitol was attacked by Trump's supporters after he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat. In 2017, there were 3,939 investigated threats, the Capitol Police said. While members of Congress may be high-profile, they do have some resources available that might not be available to state and local lawmakers, said Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who was a member of the South Dakota state Senate for 10 years before he was the state's governor. In the state legislature, 'it just wasn't feasible all the time' to have increased security, Rounds said. As threats have increased, members of Congress have had access to new funding to add security at their personal homes. But it is unclear how many have used it and whether there is enough money to keep lawmakers truly safe. 'Resources should not be the reason that a U.S. senator or congressman gets killed,' Murphy said. Instead of bringing lawmakers together, the Minnesota shootings have created new internal tensions. Smith on Monday confronted one of her fellow senators, Utah Republican Mike Lee, for a series of posts on X over the weekend. One mocked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who ran for vice president last year. Another post said of the murders, 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way.' Advertisement Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Vance Luther Boelter, the man accused of assassinating Hortman and her husband, as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota, where voters don't list party affiliation. Smith talked to Lee outside a GOP conference meeting as soon as she arrived in Washington on Monday. 'I would say he seemed surprised to be confronted,' she told reporters afterward. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also called out Lee's posts on the Senate floor, saying that for him to 'fan the flames of division with falsities, while the killer was still on the loose, is deeply irresponsible. He should take his posts down and immediately apologize to the families of the victims.' Lee's office did not respond to a request for comment. Lawmakers were already on edge before the shootings, which came less than two days after Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in California. Officers restrained Padilla and put him on the ground. Angry Democratic senators immediately took to the Senate floor Thursday afternoon to denounce Padilla's treatment. 'What was really hard for me to see was that a member of this body was driven to his knees and made to kneel before authorities,' said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. 'This is a test. This is a crossroads.' Advertisement At the briefing Tuesday, Senate Democrats say they plan to ask security officials, as well as Republican leadership, about Padilla's removal from the press conference as well as their protection against outside threats. 'I certainly hope to hear leadership responding in a profound way,' said New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who said she had been informed that her name was also on the suspect's list, said she wanted to hear recommendations at the briefing on how to improve security. 'And we can take those recommendations,' Baldwin said. 'But I think, both with the president and his administration and with members of Congress, that we need to bring the temperature down. There's no place for political violence ever. And the rhetoric — words matter.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
40 hours of violence and fear as gunman stalks Minnesota politicians
Advertisement 'This was a political assassination, which is not the word we use very often in the United States, let alone in Minnesota' acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson told reporters Monday. 'It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Saturday, June 14, 2:06 a.m., Champlin, Minnesota The black SUV's emergency lights were flashing when it pulled up to the brick split-level home in the quiet, middle-class Minneapolis suburb. The maple tree in the front yard was lush with summer leaves. The man got out of the car wearing tactical clothing, body armor and what looked like a police badge. He was carrying a 9 mm Beretta pistol. He knocked loudly and repeatedly shouted, 'This is the police, open the door.' Later, even law enforcement officials said they would have believed he was a police officer. Advertisement About 2:07 a.m., Champlin The couple who lived at the Champlin home, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, opened the door to a flashlight shining in their faces. There had been a report of a shooting in the house, Boelter told them. But when he eventually lowered the flashlight, Yvette Hoffman could see he was wearing a realistic mask that covered his entire head. In the confrontation that followed, he shot both repeatedly. The next morning, nine bullet holes could be seen in their front door. Police responded within minutes, after a 911 call from the Hoffman's adult daughter, who also lives in the house. The legislator and his wife were rushed to a nearby hospital. 2:24 a.m., Maple Grove A little more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away, security camera footage showed Boelter, still in his mask and tactical clothing, holding a flashlight as he rang the doorbell at the home of someone who authorities have so far only identified as 'Public Official 1.' 'This is the police. Open the door,' he said loudly. 'We have a warrant.' Boelter was traveling with a list of about 70 names, including prominent state and federal lawmakers, community leaders and abortion-rights advocates, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation. The federal affidavit says the list was composed of 'mostly or all Democrats.' No one was at the Maple Grove home. Boelter soon left. But he had plenty of other targets. Boelter had carefully planned his attacks in advance, making notes about targets' families and conducting surveillance on their homes, Thompson said. 'Boelter stalked his victims like prey,' he said. Advertisement About 2:36 a.m., New Hope Roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) away, in another suburb just north of Minneapolis, Boelter drove to the home of Democratic state Sen. Ann Rest. By then, law enforcement was starting to worry about local legislators and New Hope police dispatched an officer to do a safety check at Rest's home. That officer found what she thought was a police vehicle already doing a check, parked down the street from the house. When the officer tried to speak to Boelter, he stared straight ahead and didn't respond. The officer then drove to Rest's home, and after seeing no trouble waited for backup and returned to where Boelter had been parked. But by then he was gone. Around 3:30 a.m., Brooklyn Park An off-duty sergeant with the Brooklyn Park police was leaving the station when he heard about the shooting at Hoffman's house. ''Hey, drive by Melissa Hortman's house and just check on the house, would you?' he told a pair of officers, the city's police chief, Mark Bruley, told reporters. Hortman, 55, the former house speaker, had long been one of the state's leading Democrats. Minutes later, Brooklyn Park Boelter, his phony police car parked out front with its lights flashing, was standing at the front door of the large brick home when the real Brooklyn Park officers arrived. 'Moments after their arrival on scene, Boelter fired several gunshots as he moved forward, entering the Hortmans' home,' the federal affidavit states. Moments later, he fired a second set of shots. The officers moved to the house and found a gravely injured Mark Hortman in the doorway. Inside the house, they found Melissa Hortman. She had also been badly shot. Both soon died. Left behind, though, was Boelter's car, with the list of targets and at least five weapons. Nearby, police found the mask Boelter had worn along with the pistol he'd carried. Advertisement Law enforcement believed he was on foot. About 6:18 a.m. 'Dad went to war last night,' said a message Boelter sent on a family group text, which his wife eventually shared with authorities. Police had found her by tracking her cellphone. They found her in a car with her children, along with two handguns, about $10,000 in cash and passports, the affidavit said. Boelter had apparently urged her to leave. 'Words are not going to explain how sorry I am,' he said in another message. 'there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around.' He also reached out to two roommates with whom he sometimes stayed in Minneapolis. 'May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way,' Boelter wrote, according to Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years. Friends said Boelter had been struggling financially in recent years. In 2023, he began working for a transport service for a funeral home, mostly picking up bodies from assisted-living facilities. That job ended about four months ago. Later Saturday morning, Brooklyn Park Within hours of the Hortman shooting, hundreds of police officers, sheriff deputies and FBI agents were roaming the streets near the scene. Cellphones in the area pinged an alert, urging people near the Hortmans' neighborhood to take shelter. 'Police are still looking for a suspect in multiple targeted shootings who is armed and dangerous,' the alert said, giving a description of Boelter. 'Do not approach.' Advertisement A series of roadblocks was also set up, with law enforcement searching every vehicle as it left, fearing Boelter could try to escape by hiding in a car. About 7 a.m., bus stop in north Minneapolis Carrying two duffel bags, Boelter approached a man he didn't know at a Minneapolis bus stop roughly 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the Hortmans' home and asked to purchase his electric bike. After taking the bus together to the man's home, Boelter agreed to buy the bike and the man's Buick sedan. They then drove the Buick to a bank branch in nearby Robbinsdale, where Boelter, who can be seen in security footage wearing a cowboy hat, withdrew $2,200, emptying his bank account. He paid the man $900. Sunday, June 15, about 2:30 a.m., Green Isle Law enforcement received a report of someone riding an e-bike on a country road outside the small town of Green Isle, about an hour from downtown Minneapolis. The cyclist was not found, but Boelter's family lives not far away, in a sprawling 3,800-square-foot house they bought in 2023 for more than $500,000. Later Sunday morning The Buick was found, abandoned, near where the cyclist had been spotted. Worried about explosives, law enforcement initially used a robot to check the car. Inside, they found the cowboy hat that Boelter appeared to be wearing in the bank. There was also a handwritten letter addressed to the FBI in which Boelter said he was 'the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings.' Sunday night, Green Isle Law enforcement set up a large perimeter near Green Isle after a police officer thought he'd seen Boelter running into the woods. Twenty tactical teams were called in for an intensive search. For hours, heavily armed men, some with dogs, walked the roads and fields of rural Sibley County. A helicopter was called in to help. Advertisement Boelter was spotted shortly before nightfall, and officers surrounded him. He soon surrendered, crawling to officers who handcuffed him and took him into custody. Monday, St. Paul Boelter now faces a series of state charges, including murder and attempted murder. Federal prosecutors announced they had charged him with murder and stalking, which could result in a death sentence if he is convicted. At a federal court hearing Monday in St. Paul, Boelter said he could not afford an attorney. A federal defender was appointed to represent him. He was ordered held without bail ahead of a court appearance next week. Across the U.S., local and state politicians rushed to scrub home addresses from websites and began debating whether security should now be provided for politicians like state senators. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a text from Yvette Hoffman, whose recovery came quicker than her husband's. 'John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,' Yvette Hoffman said Saturday in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. 'He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark.' Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Biesecker, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; Giovanna Dell'Orto in Champlin; Obed Lamy in St. Paul and Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
