Joel Klein: Merry Christmas, you're fired

[Hannah Bell]

Only Joel Klein would send a Christmas email out detailing the layoffs to come.

(NOTE from HB: apparently not; I checked to make sure this hadn't been posted & some DU-ers got the same christmas greeting)


Here is how Leonie Haimson at NYC Public School Parents blog described the Klein "Merry Christmas, you should be fired, you lazy bastards!" missive:


Joel Klein's last (hopefully) Principals Weekly reminds us of some of his worst qualities – his pretentiousness and hypocrisy.

Klein quotes these lines, from Eliot's Little Gidding:

"We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time."

He goes onto make oft-repeated claims -- the great achievement gains under his leadership, which were actually quite limited compared to other cities around the nation; and the same old familiar complaints: Why can't we lay off teachers regardless of seniority? Why can't we fire teachers on Absent Teacher Reserve?

He also writes that given "the economics of our state and city" there will be no choice but to lay off teachers -- Given the economics of the city and the state, there will be no choice but to lay off teachers?

Wall Street had its best third quarter ever.

The banks have had their best two years ever.

Oh, and NYC has a budget surplus.

And the coffers would be even fuller if Mayor Bloomberg hadn't let the CityTime crooks steal $80 million bucks.

Who knows what the rest of Bloomberg's cronies have stolen from the city coffers?

So let's dispense with the "given the economics of the city and state" jive.

You guys WANT to lay people off.

You also WANT to destroy seniority.

You're USING the "given the economics" jive as an excuse to do both of those things.

http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/12/klein-merry-christmas-youre-fired.html


Anonymous said...

A Dept of Education Lawyer who visited my school back in 2004 told the following account of "Joel". For much of the morning he would spend time shooting a small orange basketball into a small blue basketball hoop and net located in his office at Tweed. Nothing could get done without Joels approval. The man has his priorities. I only can hope that years from now the true story on how these corporate creeps did their best to destroy public education is told.

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/12/goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-joel-klein.html

Joel Klein left a disaster as his legacy.

[dkf]

1. Won't the financial reform bill cut into Wall Street earnings?

Shouldn't New York be preparing for worse times ahead?