Schoolyard Brawl
Is this New York or Nigeria?

By Neil Seeman, NRO associate editor
March 29, 2001 9:20 a.m.

emocracy, thy name is United Federation of Teachers chapter leader Jackson Farell. At least, according to one Jackson Farell. When allegations surfaced this week that the UFT was using children to get their parents to vote against a bid by Edison Schools Inc. to take over five poor New York schools, Farell went ballistic: "I'm a citizen. I can pass out literature," he told the New York Post. "This is not China or Russia. This is America."

America? More like Nigeria. The two-week long vote (which ends Friday) over whether to allow Edison to assume management of five failing New York public schools has been a farce, an execrable demonstration of just how low the nation's teachers unions will stoop to protect their turf.

On Tuesday, at IS 111 in Brooklyn, Mr. Farrell and other school employees were seen giving children fliers that urged their parents to attend an anti-Edison meeting.

"This is outrageous. It's the parents' decision, not the teachers," said Enrique Montalvo, treasurer of IS 111's parents association. "The children were supposed to be kept out of this. We wanted them to be focused on school. Why are the teachers doing this? It's not right, period."

That's not the only thing about this vote that's not right. As of Thursday, just 983 votes out of 5,000 had been cast at the five schools. Why is nobody voting? Do parents not care? Well, no. It's just that the whole election is rigged against Edison. If parents don't bother to show up to vote, their vote is counted as a vote against Edison. (Because voter turnout is so low, privatization will likely not be approved, even if all the votes cast are favorable!) The only folks who have any incentive to vote are those opposed to the plan, but they're staying away from the voting booth to avoid being berated by union thugs.

Parents have good reason to be afraid. A mother of three students at PS 66 — where more than 85 percent of students consistently fail to meet state standards on reading and math tests — was too scared to reveal her identity, but told the New York Times: "I would give you my name but I have already been harassed. Someone called me at 10 o'clock at night, three times in a row, and asked who I voted for. I told them that was my personal business. Then they called my mother's house. Her name is on my kids' emergency card in the school. That information is supposed to be confidential."

Evidently, none of the candidates for mayor of New York has the guts to stand up to these bullies. All four Democratic candidates have publicly excoriated Edison, and won't even consider vouchers or privatization. This, in a borough where hundreds of parents slept in the street outside their children's schools two weeks ago, for two nights in a row, just to ensure that their kids would be guaranteed a spot in school next semester.

Meanwhile, the anti-Edison campaign is committed to ensuring that New York public schools remain third-rate. Norma Ayala, a paid anti-Edison organizer, told the Times: "The thing about Edison is there's no heart there." The UFF flier attacking Edison tells parents: "Let us not be persuaded by propaganda and false promises." It also says: "Our children deserve better." At least they've got one thing right.