One Week Is Not Enough! New CEC elections, new CEC support

Hon. Dennis Walcott, Chancellor, NYC Dept of Education

Hon. Sheldon Silver, Speaker, NYS Assembly

Hon. David Steiner, Commissioner, NYS Dept of Education

cc:

Hon. Marty Markowitz -- President, Borough of Brooklyn

Hon. Helen Marshall -- President, Borough of Queens

Hon. Scott Stringer -- President, Borough of Manhattan

Hon. Ruben Diaz, Jr. -- President, Borough of the Bronx

Hon. James Molinaro -- President, Borough of Staten Island

Hon. Catherine Nolan -- Chair, Education Committee, New York State Assembly

Hon. John J. Flanagan -- Chair, Education Committee, New York State Senate

Hon. Robert Jackson  -- Chair, Education Committee, New York City Council

Ms. Maura Keaney --Executive Director of External Affairs, DOE

Dear Chancellor Walcott, Speaker Silver, Commissioner Steiner

In spite of recent efforts to address concerns surrounding the Community and Citywide Education Council elections we, as CEC Presidents, Citywide Council Presidents, PA Presidents Council leaders, and elected and appointed members have grave concerns.  Advertising for the candidate forums-- the only opportunity for parents and selectors to find out more about the people who seek to represent them than is available in the candidate statements -- was woefully inadequate.  Unless and until there is robust outreach and adequate notice for those forums, any elections will remain fundamentally flawed. Under state law, the Department of Education has clear responsibilities, namely to facilitate an inclusive and robust public planning process for these elections.  Having ignored what the law requires for the better part of three months, DOE can hardly expect parents to be satisfied with a one-week extension of the same flawed process.

Therefore we demand that the NYC Department of Education address the many failings and inconsistencies in the Community and Citywide Education Council elections now underway by stopping the current fiasco and restarting the process, beginning with new candidate forums and a new selectors vote.

In order to ensure accountability we propose that the Office of Family Engagement and Action demonstrate in a transparent manner that:

1)      Outreach to the selectors has been sufficiently robust, and that all information provided to them on the elections, candidates and voting process is timely as well as far reaching;

2)      The basis for candidate eligibility is made clear to both the candidates and the voters. This means that all necessary information, including each candidate's school and designated representation (for ELL/special education seats, citywide councils, etc.), must be clearly labeled and confirmed  on  voter guides and on  each ballot, including candidate eligibility by school;

3)      Evidence is provided that no eligible candidate has been left off any list, and that candidate statements are transferred by OFIA and/or the vendor to the voter guides and ballots completely, accurately and without typos.  Specifically the voter guides must be vetted, accurate and complete before the forums begin and all candidates' statements and status must be made clear (child's  school, ELL/special ed status, eligibility, term of service);

4)      Notice for new candidate forums must properly connect with all selectors in such a way that, at a minimum, the forums are calculated to bring together a majority of the candidates and of the selectors for each council.  Further every effort needs to be made to prevent conflicts with other relevant candidate forums;

5)      We must be assured that all selectors are well informed as to their roles and responsibilities, such as the new election dates, as well as voting mechanics such as log in codes.

6)      A representative sample of CEC elected or appointed members from all boroughs currently serving as well as Presidents Councils are actively involved in this process.

Finally, it is clear to us that these election problems are not isolated examples, but rather the end product of a systemic program on the part of the Department of Education to ignore parents and communities and disrespect their wishes.  This City is in desperate need of a well run parent outreach mechanism, that is not politicized but rather respects the needs of all communities. Once these elections are completed,  we call for OFIA's responsibilities, including elections, administration, outreach and training of CECs, School Leadership Teams and Parent Associations, be transferred to an independent body or elected office that will truly support and embrace active and vibrant elected parent bodies and parent involvement in our children's schools and educations.

It is imperative that discussions on this matter going forward include elected and appointed members of parent councils.  There are many ways this can be done. For example, Borough Presidents may provide support for CECs and citywide councils; the Public Advocate may be empowered to respond to parent issues and complaints; and a "parent academy" run by CUNY or other organization with educational experience as its core mission may provide training for parent leaders.

It could be said that giving the Department of Education and OFIA oversight of parent engagement is an inherent conflict of interest as these same entities are also empowered to write and enforce regulations governing parent involvement. Thus there are no checks and balances. This has undoubtedly contributed to the flawed elections that we are currently experiencing.

We sincerely hope that these demands are taken seriously and adopted, for the good of our parents, our City and most importantly, our children.

Sincerely,

Sue Dietrich -- Co-President, CPAC

Lisa Donlan -- President CEC 1 Manhattan

Shino Tanikawa -- First Vice President, CEC 2 Manhattan

Noah Gotbaum -- President CEC 3 Manhattan

Judith Amaro -- President CEC 6 Manhattan

Tessa Wilson -- President CEC 14 Brooklyn

Jim Devor -- President CEC 15 Brooklyn

Isaac Carmignani -- Co-President CEC 30 Queens

Sam Pirozzolo -- President CEC 31 Staten Island

Jaye Bea Smalley -- Co- President Citywide Council on Special Education (CCSE)

Paola de Kock -- Citywide Council on High Schools

William McDonald -- CPAC Parliamentarian

Michael Markowitz -- Member, CEC 2 Manhattan

Beth Cirone -- Member, CEC 2 Manhattan

Sarah Chu -- Member, CEC 2 Manhattan

John Englert -- Co-President, CCSE

Khem Irby -- Member, CEC 13 Brooklyn

Ellen McHugh -- Member, CCSE

Caroline Breuers -- President, CEC District 75

Stanley Ng -- Member, CEC 20 Brooklyn

Diana Marenfeld -- Member, CEC District 75