What Do You Do When Someone Won’t Stop Lying

May 05

jonpeltoAchievement First/ConnCAN, Charter Schools, Democratic Legislators, Education Reform, Malloy, Public Employees, Stefan Pryor , , , 18 Comments

With every passing day, lying seems to come easier and easier to Connecticut’s “Education Reformers.”

The latest example showed up in a recent blast email from Patrick Riccards, ConnCAN’s CEO and head cheerleader for Governor Malloy’s “Education Reform” bill.

Riccards returns to his old refrain that Connecticut’s Democratic legislators actually support “failing schools” by opposing some of the language in Malloy’s bill.  In this case Riccards says “it appears that the Commissioner’s Network could end up being gutted even further.”

Readers will call that the “Commissioner’s Network” is the provision that allows Malloy’s Commissioner of Education to take over a local school, fire the staff, ban collective bargaining and turn the school over to be run by some unnamed third-party.  Adding insult to injury the new entity running the school would then be exempt for the state’s laws limiting the use of consultants and the state laws requiring open and competitive bidding for goods and services.

Unfazed by this extraordinary abuse of power, the ”education reform” spokesman then turns his vitriolic rhetoric back onto Connecticut’s teachers saying “The teachers unions are spreading lies about the Commissioner’s Network, saying that these schools would ban collective bargaining and could be run by for-profit companies – both of which are patently false. They are undertaking a massive effort to prevent the Commissioner’s Network from moving forward in a meaningful way.”

He ends by calling on people to “Tell your legislators: The Commissioner’s Network is essential!”

What is it about the “education reformers” inability or unwillingness to tell the truth!

It’s almost as if they have a pathological need to lie.

If you’ve read Malloy’s “Education Reform” proposal (Senate Bill #24) or have been reading posts here at Wait, What? you will recall the statutory language that is part of Section 18 of the bill.

The bill reads:

(F) The provisions of sections 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, shall not apply to any teacher or administrator who is assigned to a commissioner’s network school.

Mr. Riccards, listen very carefully…                       

Section 10-153a of the Connecticut State Statutes IS THE STATE LAW THAT ALLOWS TEACHERS TO COLLECTIVELY BARGAIN.  It reads “Members of the teaching profession shall have and shall be protected in the exercise of the right to form, join or assist, or refuse to form, join or assist, any organization for professional or economic improvement and to negotiate in good faith through representatives of their own choosing with respect to salaries, hours and other conditions of employment free from interference, restraint, coercion or discriminatory practices by any employing board of education or administrative agents or representatives thereof in derogation of the rights guaranteed by this section and sections 10-153b to 10-153n, inclusive. [Section 10-153b to 10-153n then lay out the specific elements of how the collective bargaining process works].

When Governor Malloy’s bill says that “The provisions of sections 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, shall not apply to any teacher or administrator who is assigned to a commissioner’s network school,” it means that the LAW on collective bargaining SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR WHO IS ASSIGNED TO A COMMISSIONER’S NETWORK SCHOOL.

It is not a difficult concept to wrap your head around.

Malloy’s bill BANS collective bargaining at Commissioner’s Network Schools.

Do you and your reform allies really not understand how laws are written or are you knowingly lying about this issue – over and over and over again.

You have just sent out another blast email saying that it is “patently false” that Malloy’s bill bans collective bargaining in the Commissioner’s Network schools.

You sir, are wrong.  Senate Bill 24 BANS collective bargaining in Network Schools!

In forty years, since public employees won the right to collectively bargain, NO Connecticut governor has ever proposed banning collective bargaining for a group of public employees.  No Democrat or Republican or our one Independent governor ever proposed such an inappropriate and immoral step – except this one.

You can lie all you want but you cannot erase the fact that Dannel Malloy will go down in history as the one Connecticut governor who proposed banning collective bargaining for a group of public employees.

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  • Linda174

    Jon,

    His tactics are so sleazy. Does he ever get challenged publicly…reporters, legislators, anyone? They say and print whatever they want regardless of the facts.
    Why don’t any of the newspapers report on this? He is ultra creepy to me.

  • Castles Burning

    I would like some strategies for what to do when someone doesn’t stop lying or stops listening (which probably happened a long time ago).  This morning teachers have heard that the governor is no longer negotiating and we are encouraged to contact him.  I am sincere when I ask is there anything that could be said to him that might: 1) get his attention or 2) rethink his position.  I tend to doubt it but do not want to be silent. 

    • Linda174

      No..I don’t think there is anything we could say or do. He will not listen and he does want to learn because despite his rhetoric, he does NOT respect us.

      He is listening to one group only and he is too arrogant to ever admit he made a mistake or he doesn’t have all the answers.

      With this deficit, what are they going to be able to pull off anyway? It will be piece meal…Pryor won’t stay too long without all the power he assumed he would have.

      They probably can’t believe it came to this….they had power and money on their side.

      • Castles Burning

         Thanks for your honest response.  I appreciate it.

  • George Peterman

    Riccards has also been sending out disenguous petitions through ConnAd, the 501(c)(4) that is the identical twin to ConnCAN, a 501(c)(3) non-profit “community service” organization.  Via Care2 under another person’s name, he has been pushing the same false rhetoric about the urgency of pushing this exact plan through right now or it’s going to be catastrophic for CT’s children.  They call themselves “progressives” now, who only want what’s best for the children.  So how come so secretive about who is funding you Riccards?  You know – the Walton Foundation, Sackler and his cronies, and a host of others.  Unlike teachers? 

    If you go to ConnAd’s web site, you’ll find a charming bunch of lies from Riccards about his role as leader of both Conn-job organizations.  At the ConnAd web he claims that they are independent groups and that even though he leads both ConnAd and ConnCAN, they are separate and his actions at ConnAd are “independent of (his) ConnCAN duties.”  How do you manage that, might I ask?  Does he turn off half his brain?  Is there a magic way to not talk to yourself so that you don’t violate the IRS laws governing 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations while organizing political activities? I would seriously like to know how he pulls this off and how this is legal.

    Riccaards and his well-funded, well-organized machine continue to impugn the character and motives of teachers, while painting himself as the righteous crucader for all that is good and right.  His equally morally-challenged predecessor, Alex Johnston, claimed in an email to me last year that “We are the heroes,” and patated his own back liberally for being “proud of what we’ve achieved.”   Screw you both.  If I didn’t love my students, why would I put up with a pay freeze for 2 of the last 3 years, including 2 furlough days a year, and pay freeze for the coming year?  Why would I take time out of my personal life to attend their activities, the plays and recitals and games?  Why would I put up with their lying bullshit attacks?  Because I teach and I care.

    • George P

      Just to clarify: “their lying” refers to Riccards, Johnston and the education deformer – not my students.  I love them.

  • Pingback: Usual Faux Reforms in Connecticut « Diane Ravitch's blog

  • Magister

    I try to avoid ad hominem attacks so as not to lower the standards of discourse, but I have to say: this man is an ignoramus or worse. The position he favors is so obviously destructive to education and his support for it is so maladroitly presented. The man whose bio blurb on his website claims that he is THE voice of education is the same one who blithely rejects a huge swath of humanities subjects as “the 13 worst majors” in a blog article. His criterion, of course, is how much money one can make.

    This man is to education what Jim Jones was to kids’ powdered drinks.

    • jonpelto

      And we have today’s leader for best comment of the day.

      Sent from my BlackBerry please excuss typos

    • AM

      Funny how he listed those majors which included English, Journalism, and Political Science…fields many of his staff members and probably he, himself majored in.  It’s too bad, he didn’t list the most useless (and destructive) jobs – like the one he and other reformers have created so they could make great money on “behalf” of the people they say are trying to help.  Education Reform —  a great field of study for people who are above working as teachers and social workers.

  • Paul

    This is the same tactic he used, with success, against State Employes last year. First he courted us when he needed our vote but once he squeaked by with a win, he stabbed us in the back. He villainized us, spread lies and misinformation to galvanize public opinion against us. The only difference is that our Unions were in bed with him and in the end he got what he wanted, salary givebacks, benefit concessions, higher levels of contributions and years without raises. Hopefully, the teacher’s union will stay united against the bullying. They do have one thing going for them, people generally like and respect teachers, it wasn’t that way for State Employees, we have been scapegoated for decades. Good Luck.

  • Mookalaboona

    I emailed Riccards many times saying what a fool he sounded like on WTIC when he did an interview.  He never returned my emails.  He must think he’s a fool because he never defended himself.  

    • RJEastHartfrod

      Mookalaboona I did the same and thank you. t is too bad WTIC 1080 CBS Radio did not post John Rowland’s latest interview with Mr. Riccards (not the 3/5 interview on currently on the 1080 website), he exposed Mr. Riccards as an ineffective highly paid lobbyist who was speechless when the ex-Governor questioned his support for SB 24 in its’ original form.(He was probably taken aback by Rowland’s support of teachers here, unlike on the Brad Davis show which became an infomercial for ConnCan) In fact Mr. Riccards received his current tag line from Mr. Rowland…”It is not about the adults in the room but the kids”, although appropriating a tag line for his many missives, it does not substantially change the meaning behind the phrase “real ability” to change schools i.e union busting and education budgets. Only a hedge fund or large corporation(s) can pay Mr. Riccards salary in six figures….It is all about public money, public money to privately run charter schools with large management fees. This group wants to monetize education by essentially taking it private. Education funding is historically an increasing large stream of revenue. What group would not want to invest millions to capture it?

  • guest

    Apologizes if this has been referenced (and congratulations to Jonathan on getting the word out!)

    http://dianeravitch.net/2012/05/05/usual-faux-reforms-in-connecticut/

    • Linda174

      Thanks for posting.

  • Tom Burns

    Come on Jon–we shouldn’t even mention this self-serving individual ever–he has no understanding of anything that benefits kids—but he does know how to try and keep his job—and he is petrified because as of today he is losing—because he and his corporate buddies have been called out in CT–before they could wreck havoc on all of America’s kids—-OOPs you lose Patrick—–now you may have to work or even teach –God forbid–How in the world does a nobody like Patrick Riccards gets to write an Op-ed page in the New York Post right before the CT legislators vote—would they allow me to write one??–maybe because Ruppert Murdoch owns the paper—-what a joke–and so transparent–then the corporate raiders call in Geoffrey Canada to write in the Register–they are pulling out all the stops to make CT—Louisiana-Michigan-Indiana-Florida etc–well it aint happening—One question–What EDUCATOR has ever supported Governor Malloys Bill—None–but the corporate people have—and NONE have supported the other states who came before us to sell out to PRIVATE entities–including non-profits—-I dont know about you but my kids and grandkids need public education–and America needs it to–I am counting on our intelligent legislators to do the right thing and so far they have——-and Malloy—-check yourself and do the right thing——-you are way off here and are hurting our kids———-do a little original thinking–please—Tom

    • jonpelto

      Yup. Well put!

      Sent from my BlackBerry please excuss typos

  • Bernard

    When you try to confront the Hartford Courant scribes like Kathy Megan, which I’ve done, on writing an article challenging the efficacy of Charter Schools, she actually feigns concern, but in reality will never do anything to cross the Courant, owned by Fox news Corp, run by Ruppert Murdoch, who wants to bilk taxpayers out of millions through the ruse of improving education.. I am an art educator, and of course am amused and disgusted by Riccards comments on what majors should be pursued, and which are useless as they try to make every child into a concrete thinking lunkhead with a limited subset of skills…Is it ironic that Riccards and his con”canned” responses to every move of the legislators is just scripted drivel that doesn’t demonstrate those meta-cognitive skills that educators try to instill in their students everyday??? Has he ever offered anything remotely substantive to support his outlandish comments?! The man is simply a puppet and I look long and hard for the string on the back of his head. Must be nice to make hundreds of thousands of dollars for repeating the same nonsense for various papers and news outlets…