New York City public school parents just voted in pro-merit candidates to serve on the school boards. This is a big deal, especially in ground zero for progressive lunacy.
There are a total of thirty-two districts within the five boroughs. One through six are in Manhattan; seven through 12 are in the Bronx; 13 through 23, and 32 are in Brooklyn; 24 through 30 are in Queens; and 31 is in Staten Island.
Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE) endorsed approximately three-fourths of the candidates who “won school-council seats and will now make up a significant 40% of all elected reps on the Citywide Community Education Councils — the city’s version of school boards — for the 2023-2025 term," per the NY Post. Forty percent in a city that is eight-to-one Democrat.
Why is this important? Because progressives choking the progress out of New York City by lowering standards in the name of “equity” and “diversity” can no longer be denied; it will not be ignored by parents.
New York City taxpayers spend $38,000 per public school child in 2023. This is up from last year's $28,000. This is despite record high outmigration. Enrollment is down by 36% in some schools. The price hike likely comes from three factors: Biden inflation, financial dereliction, and Adams’ mass importing of illegals. Illegal children have been absorbed into the public school system and represent 50 percent of the student body in some cases. As they’re English deficient, many extra services are needed, which are funded by the taxpayers. The prize for taxpayers funding the most expensive public school education in the nation is having the students in the bottom half of the nation for reading and writing.
Now here’s where things get interesting. Former disgraced Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio looked to phase out G&T (Gifted & Talented) programs–the only public school education that worked. As a parting gift that marked the end of his “service,” he made it so that G&T “w[ould] be completely eliminated by fall 2022, putting an end to the [previous] system wherein 4-year-old city kids are tested.” Additionally, de Blasio and former Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza hatched a sinister plot: remove the SHSAT, the sole way to get into New York City’s eight Specialized High Schools. Why? “Diversity,” meaning, removing merit and actually applying racism because Asians dominate the test, and blacks are the lowest performing.
Presently, under Mayor Adams and Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks, on paper, things look better. They both claim to be pro-expansion of G&T programs if it provides “equity” and “diversity.” Chancellor Banks said, “Through this expansion, we are providing more opportunities for accelerated learning… while providing an equitable, fair process to identify the students who will excel with accelerated learning.” Progressive New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams parroted, "The Council looks forward to continuing working with all stakeholders to make sure the new version of Gifted and Talented…reflects the diversity of our city’s students." While they miss the point of a test that is colorblind and confusingly insist it reflects race, they have allowed the G&T programs and the SHSAT to continue.
However, after allowing the testing to continue and expand, on June 1, Stuyvesant High School released its admissions data. Seven black students got into Stuyvesant out of 762 offers. A total of 489 went to Asians, 158 went to whites, 51 went to those who didn’t identify, 36 went to multi-racial, 20 went to Hispanics (referred to as “Latinx”), 7 went to black, and 1 went to a Native American. This means progressive Democrats, who were voted into power by Democrats, might reverse their decision because of dissatisfaction with the racial quotas.
This is why these achievements are so important. Forty percent of their endorsed candidates making up New York City’s school boards will fight to keep merit, which means they’ll fight against racism in education. They'll fight to keep standards high and for children to get a quality education.
Moreover, that these candidates won on this platform signals that the progressive tide might be receding. New York City Council early voting has already begun for those with primaries. Perhaps on primary voting day, June 27, some of the 21 kooks in the progressive caucus, including childless Tiffany Caban, endorsed by the UFT, might be fired by her challenger, Charles Castro, which would be amazing. Then on election Day, November 7, mother and pro-parental rights and academic excellence candidate Kelly Klingman has a chance to win.
Moms, let’s go!
