The Big Apple’s powerful teachers union is putting its thumb on the scale to get its own candidates onto local parent advisory boards – holding boot camps and workshops as part of a recruitment push, The Post has learned.
All 357 two-year term seats are up for grabs on the boards, known as Community Education Councils, which advocate for each of the city’s 32 school districts.
And the United Federation of Teachers is looking to get in on the action.
The union, headed by President Michael Mulgrew, held a boot camp training session in January for potential CEC applicants. The session was led by Shino Tanikawa, an anti-testing schools advocate who wants to get rid of the Gifted & Talented program. She sits on the state Board of Regents.
Two attendees included Deborah Kross, a representative for the Bronx on the Citywide Council on High Schools, and Steve Stowe, president of CEC 20 in Brooklyn.
“We signed up because we wanted to see what this was about, because honestly, we were ticked off to see that it was sponsored by the UFT and also because the person who was leading that boot camp was an individual that is pretty famous in education circles,” Kross said Friday.
“She’s known for very, let’s say, strange positions and very strong opinions, calling parents names and really antagonizing a lot of people in education circles.”
Kross and Stowe found the boot camp to be informative, covering the application process and education law that governs them, but questioned the UFT involvement.
“I think it’s naive to say that the UFT doesn’t have their own interest in all of this,” said Stowe.
“That’s something that’s hard to communicate sometimes because the message is that parents have to always support teachers,” he said.
“And yes, if you have good teachers, you should support them. But parent interests and UFT interests will not always be aligned. And I personally believe that the UFT has a lot of influence. And as a parent organization, as a CEC, we have to try to represent parents first.”
CECs are tasked with advising and commenting on educational policies and providing input to New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks and the Panel for Educational Policy. For grades pre-K through 8.
In the past, CEC members were voted for just by PTA officers but the law was changed for the last cycle to allow parents to vote. Participation, however, was low.
Kross said parental voting has helped change the tone of the local councils.
“The CEC’s really renewed themselves and some members joined CECs who really speak up for parents,” she said. “And they’re not puppets – whether it’s puppets of the DOE or puppets of certain activist groups. So you have some CECs that have been extremely vocal speaking up, trying to hold the DOE accountable around things that are done by the DOE that parents don’t agree with, things like admissions.”
She continued, “So I think the UFT is trying to get some control around who gets elected, maybe with people who are more UFT- and teacher-friendly.”
Each CEC has 10 elected members, two borough president appointees and a non-voting student member, which will include a newly instated District 75 representative on each council.
Up for election are also seats on four citywide councils that cover special education, English language learners and District 75 students.
Voting runs from April 21 to May 9, while the deadline for applications is Feb. 13 – though it’s rumored that it could be extended. The two-year term begins July 1.
Many seats on CECs have sat vacant, with a total of 50 open, according to data on the DOE website.
Some current CEC members are fed up with “the system.”
“I came here thinking I could make a difference and I realized I can’t,” said Robin Kelleher, a mother and member of CEC 2 in Manhattan, who said she won’t run again for the two-year term.
“I have three children and the hours that I spent away from them would have been better spent helping them with their homework or taking them to activities. It’s just so frustrating working with a system that is so, so clearly caught up in serving its own private interests.”
Stowe thinks some interest in running for CECs has waned thanks to the Mayor Adams and Banks administration.
“A lot of people were motivated to run, to fight what was happening under Mayor de Blasio. And I think that a lot of those things have not necessarily been fixed, but I think the current mayor and the current chancellor are not nearly the lightning rods or as abrasive for our community.”
He added, “I’m working hard with my colleagues here to convince parents that we have to stay involved in this, because if we don’t, things can keep moving against you that you’re not aware of. And a perfect example is the influence of the UFT.”
The UFT will host a parent workshop on Saturday in Queens, presented by Queens Borough President Panel for Educational Policy appointee Sheree Gibson and Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council Secretary Shirley Aubin. It will cover leadership opportunities on other bodies like the PEP, PTA and community boards.
A flier for the event reads, “Parent voice – a powerful tool in education advocacy. Needs you. There are many roles and ways to be involved. Join us to learn about them.”
The UFT didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.