What’s up with Phil Rumore? I respect his ability but find his lack of respect for the people of our city despicable. He learned how to negotiate with historically collectively incompetent school boards. Corrupt Albany does his will and he has a stacked deck of friends on the School Board elected in a separate May election by less than five percent of the electorate. He and his anti-child alliance with Crystal Peoples and the corrupted Grassroots and Black Sisterhood organizations lobby intensely against moving the farcical board election to November. Teachers have great pay and benefits while the poorest city in America cheats impoverished students out of their right to a decent education. Rumore has no guilt forcing a young child into a system knowing that chances are overwhelming that the child is doomed to a life of tragedy, probably pealing potatoes in a prison kitchen. He blames everyone but himself. The graduation rate fell to 46 percent last year and the taxpayers paid $25,500 per student. All could attend Nichols and we’d have $10,000 a year in a college fund for each. There are nine ex-principals in City Hall getting $90,000/year. We hire and promote based on whom you know and not on how good you may be at your job. Phil fights standards and expects us to lay back while the standard math and English testing grade averages continue to fall into the abyss.

The union can either force the city to reinstate multiple health carriers or negotiate more tribute and the system will pay $15 million more per year for the same benefits, some younger teachers will be laid off, class size will increase.

Many teachers want a better school system without fear of guns and wayward, undisciplined children and they sensitize with the burdens Rumore places on the children. They felt a calling and struggled for their degree to help children learn and not to baby-sit and experience daily the horror of those mired in the quagmire who can’t speak for themselves and are relegated to live in the shade.

Our failed school system is primarily responsible for the decay of our city and the flight of the middle class to the suburbs. Insane regulations imposed by Albany for dealing with incompetent teachers and tenure requires two years and $200,000 to discipline Ms. Crystal Barton? What planet are we on? How long will our community continue to accept failure? We have a progressive education crisis and the silence is deafening. Sure, Rumore’s days are numbered. Young teachers will realize his policies will cost them their jobs. But when are the Regents going to do their job and dismantle this dysfunctional system? Throwing money at it doesn’t work. Charters work. A residential charter would work.

The good citizens of our community demand responsible leadership.

Carl Paladino
CEO, Ellicott Development Company

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