[NYC] schools overcrowding audit only skims the surface — census of schools is kept lower than reality, sources say (NY Daily News - July 10, 2014) EXCERPT: Members of a task force tackling classroom overcrowding say Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña is intentionally misrepresenting city schools’ capacity. Emails leaked to the Daily News between a handful of members of the group of parent activists, education bureaucrats and administrators reveal their frustration with Fariña’s reforms to the Blue Book, a 475-page Education Department census of schools’ enrollment and capacity. Education Department reps on the 17-member group “treat us . . . like we have just farted in church anytime we raise an issue they find distasteful,” one member wrote in the group email chain. Three people on the task force complained Wednesday to the Daily News that their recommendations on formulas used to calculate school space were purposely ignored by education officials. “My guess is that the city doesn’t really want to have an accurate number in the Blue Book,” one member said. “If you really started reporting the capacity of our school buildings accurately, we’d probably end up needing hundreds of thousands of more school seats.” The complaints were revealed a day after The News exclusively reported on an audit by City Controller Scott Stringer that found over one-third of the city’s public school buildings were filled to at least 138% of capacity in 2012. The furor escalated in June after Fariña announced reforms to the Blue Book, saying the city would no longer count trailers toward a school’s capacity. She stood by that measure Wednesday, and signaled to The News more reforms were on the horizon. “As a former teacher, principal and superintendent, I understand the firsthand frustration of a Blue Book that does not correctly represent space,” Fariña said in a statement. “Unfortunately, overcrowding won’t be fixed overnight, but this administration — in partnership with the working group and other community members across the city — will take steps forward as quickly and effectively as possible.” But behind the scenes, members said they were left feeling like their work was being ignored. “Because there are internal deadlines for publishing the Blue Book in a timely manner, the first round of revisions became cosmetic changes,” said Shino Tanikawa, 51, a member of Community Education Council District 2 serving on the Blue Book group. “I didn’t sign up to do this for cosmetic changes, I wanted serious formulaic changes.” A spokesman for Mayor de Blasio said the administration is focused on fixing the overcrowding problem. “In just our first six months, Mayor de Blasio has put unprecedented resources into bringing new seats online faster in the most overcrowded school districts,” said Wiley Norvell.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 14:33:39 +0000
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