Judge Bellis Rules Against Vallas’ Qualifications To Serve As School Chief, City To Appeal Decision

Education, News and Events116 Comments

Paul Vallas
Judge rules against Paul Vallas.

Update: Judge Bellis’ written ruling here.

A state judge Friday afternoon ruled in favor of Bridgeport resident and retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez who asserted in a lawsuit that Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas lacked the proper legal qualifications to serve. The city will appeal the decision. Vallas told the CT Mirror, “Nothing changes. It’s not like the decision results in any immediate action. We are going to appeal.” From the CT Post:

During his short time at the helm of Bridgeport’s failing education system, Superintendent Paul Vallas was both hailed as savior and demonized as an arrogant, inflexible dictator.

Now school’s out for summer–and for Vallas.

In a decision expected to rock the city’s education system, a Superior Court judge Friday ordered Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas removed from his job.

“This could be disastrous for our education system,” said Thomas Mulligan, a city Board of Education member and local lawyer. “If Superintendent Vallas is unable to continue serving, this will mean Bridgeport will have gone through four superintendents in a three-year period–John Ramos, Vallas, the interim superintendent who replaces Vallas and a permanent superintendent.”

Read more here.

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116 comments

  2. Perhaps we will now get to see what “legal appeals” are all about. I have not read Judge Bellis’ opinion, but I fear merit is not what was measured, but something else. My opinion is based on the necessary reform and changes in the school system of the past 18 months. They have been visualized, set in motion, communicated to many publics and are working their way forward by a QUALIFIED individual. Who is truly taking on the tasks of the “kids in the classroom?” Time will tell.

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    1. JML, it’s time for a Superintendent of Schools national search. No one could successfully argue Paul Vallas is or was the best in the nation.

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      1. Joel, why National? Wasn’t it so much better when we chose from within? Someone who can both understand the families and their environment. There are more than a few principals in our system who have “proven” track records … just a thought.

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      2. Joel Gonzalez, I am in full agreement with you, “it’s time for a Superintendent of Schools national search,” but I would take it a step further, we need to do the same thing for the police chief and fire chief, all three positions are about life and death and Bridgeport should always try to get the very best wherever they are.

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    2. John … meeting the educational and licensing requirements is part of being qualified for a position. Why don’t you understand that and why don’t you understand Vallas is BS artist? That whole so-called certification program he is in reeks of fraud and I am betting the UConn professor who was in charge of this is going to be fired as well as being in legal trouble. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Vallas doing the perp walk.
      Vallas being Super is a product of the Finch machine which is why I find it curious some of the people from CW4BB think he is the greatest thing since sliced white bread (never did like sliced white bread).

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    3. You need a new closing line … getting old … here it is, read it:
      civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/DocumentInquiry/DocumentInquiry.aspx?DocumentNo=6363104

      Sweet nuggets just for you:
      This is a quote from the judge’s decision: “Because Vallas did not complete a school leadership program, he was not entitled to a waiver of certification. The waiver he received on 6/17/13 is invalid. The court orders that Paul Vallas be removed from his office.”

      The best part is the judge basically called both Stefan Pryor and Paul Vallas disingenuous. “Vallas and his witnesses were, at times, less than candid with the court.”

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    4. We deserve to have a superintendent who meets established criteria to do the work for which he or she is hired to do. I don’t care how nice a guy Vallas is. Furthermore, you Bow-Tie Bozo, we would never hire a teacher who was not certified. Why the hell would we hire a superintendent who lacks credentials?

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    5. John Marshall Lee–a prudent, educated person would read the good Judge’s legal opinion before ascribing her nefarious motives for making it. Vallas, Pryor and the Board of Education are being held accountable for not obeying the law. Surely you believe in both accountability and following the law, do you not?

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          1. Yes, the city attorney is filing an appeal and request for stay but we do not know what name is on the filing paper. The City always outsources big cases, now what does that tell you?

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          3. Thanks Lennie, that’s great news. Art Laske handling the case, Norm will have fun with him.

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          4. Yes, Pattis has a twisted sense of humor. Darn good lawyer, too. Art’s no slouch either. Will be interesting to see how long the appeal process takes.

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          5. Thanks Lennie, I’ve seen Norm Pattis in action and he is the white version of Johnnie Cochran, lawyer best known for the O.J. Simpson case; he is good.

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  4. I applaud Judge Lopez for stepping up and taking this issue to court. Remember, she could have lost, too. So I applaud her for standing up and being counted.
    However you feel about Vallas’ performance, the point here–which neither Finch, Vallas, Excel or the rest of the crowd seems to understand–is that just because you think you are right and hold the moral high ground and answers to all of the tough questions in the world, doesn’t mean you can subvert democracy to achieve your ends. It is an astonishing display of arrogance with a ridiculous show of hubris.

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  5. John Marshall Lee, come on now, do you really believe “I have not read Judge Bellis’ opinion, but I fear merit is not what was measured, but something else?” Give us a suggestion or two on what you, JML, think were Judge Bellis’ reasons for her decision.

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      1. This should be the blueprint for David Walker, John Marshall Lee and others of their group, it takes more than just words, pledges and letters, it takes courage and heart to put their money and what they believe in and fight and take it to court.

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    2. Ron,
      What did the judge say? This decision is not about his qualifications to ‘reform’ the system, I can unequivocally state after reading the opinion. She ruled on the “program” at UConn after consulting the documents offered by both sides, the law on which she is expert, and a dictionary definition of program offered in her decision. I can understand why what she revealed did not appear to be a program. Nothing more sinister than that. I do not know Judge Bellis at all and found the reasoning for a previous decision to be reasonable.

      I hope all of you will be out to City meetings to share your thoughts and opinions on multiple subjects. Expect to see you there for a face-to-face conversation sometime soon.

      With the standards getting established for Superintendent per CT law, maybe folks in OIBland ought to be coming up with criteria for BOE membership. Couldn’t hurt to consider such concepts before having to weigh in on specific candidates, could it? Time will tell.

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  8. Must our tax dollars really be wasted on an appeal? Surely, Mr. Vallas isn’t the only person who can run the Bridgeport school system!

    Why not just cough up the cash to find a legally qualified replacement?

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    2. Do you really believe anyone with the proper certification and talent would want anything to do with this BOE and school system after the publicity of the last two years?

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    1. And remember his self-absorbed all-about-me quote … if my son can survive in Afghanistan I can handle Bridgeport … not the exact words, but that was the gist. See, it is all about Paul and his son. Narcissism to the extreme.

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      1. The mayor’s next move will be to hire former City Attorney John Bohannon for their appeal. City has too much money invested in Vallas and his friends. Always remember, “follow the money.”

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  11. Alternatively, Norm Pattis, the attorney for former Connecticut superior court judge Carmen Lopez, who brought the suit against Vallas, pointed out Malloy, Pryor, Vallas and the majority of the Bridgeport Board of Education have repeatedly cut corners in their never-ending attempt to put and keep Paul Vallas in the position of running Bridgeport’s Schools, despite his failure to meet the most basic statutory requirements.

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    1. He was to do their bidding … privatize, break the unions, bring in TFA, charter chains, cut down on the labor costs, salaries, pensions, funnel the money elsewhere, suck off the public teat, pack it up in three years and move the circus reform on to the next unsuspecting failing city.

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      1. beware, could you please give details of how the privatize, break the unions, etc. you cite above was to be accomplished, and what is the basis of your statement?

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        1. See results in Philly, Chicago, NOLA … they are in constant crisis mode. It is your future:
          Although Paul Vallas is often credited by the mainstream media as having “saved” Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans, these districts remain unsaved. Of the three, Philadelphia is in the worst shape today, its finances in shambles, desperately underfunded, neatly 4,000 teachers and other staff laid off, schools under threat of closure or privatization, students with little or no access to the arts and the other essentials of a basic education.

          Here is a report on Vallas’ time in Philadelphia.

          Vallas launched the nation’s most extensive experiment in privatization, which was evaluated by the RAND Corporation.

          Here is RAND’s report on Vallas’ foray into the “diverse provider model.”

          In sum,
          “The major findings of the analysis of achievement effects under the diverse provider model in its first four years of operation are as follows:
          dianeravitch.net/2013/06/30/the-vallas-record-in-philadelphia-revisted/

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  12. And what I find interesting is the person on the Board who is almost as adamant as Moales is Tom Mulligan who is an attorney. Vallas and the UConn professor may have committed fraud with this phony certification program. I find it more than a little disgraceful an officer of the court like Mulligan would condone this.

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    1. The typical lame crutch all whiners rely on when they are finally held accountable, da Dems and da unions … they’re always to blame.

      Can we remove certification for hairdressers, dog groomers, exterminators … let’s have everyone be friends of Stefan and Dannel and they can decide who is worthy and who is not … maybe YOU will not measure up … you have to be politically and financially connected Barry, so pony up sir.

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    2. Barry, I don’t know you, but I do know the Honorable Judge Lopez and I take offense to your description. I believe right or wrong her actions are done with only the BEST intentions for our children. She has been a family friend forever. Her husband Dale (the Honorable Judge), a Republican leader and former State Rep. understands her compassion and would not accept her doing anything for the sake of the Unions or party politics. You should do a little research before being so quick to label people. I may not always agree with Judge Lopez on all issues, but not once have I or would I question her integrity.

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  15. You go, Carmen Lopez!!!
    You go, gurl!!!
    Oh, excuse me. A very well-deserved victory for Bridgeport, Bridgeport Public Schools and most importantly Bridgeport school children. Congratulations, Judge Lopez. You truly KICKED ASS, GURL!!!
    AND A BIG SHOUT OUT TO NORM PATTIS!!!
    Thank you Norm for reminding Bridgeport officials rules are to be followed and not ignored and broken when they simply get in the way.
    Let’s draft Norm Pattis for City Attorney!

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  16. And to JML. Would you get off that high f’n horse of yours? You blog on endlessly about OPM violating the City Charter and City Ordinances and how it must stop and yet when a superior court judge rules the actions of the state of Connecticut are illegal you whine about how the ends should justify the means. How pathetic you are. You sound just like Bill Finch.

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    1. To those who celebrate this ruling, think who will maintain the momentum gathered and moved in the past 18 months to turn around the “educational deaths” suffered during the past two regimes in Bridgeport classrooms. Wasn’t this the reason for reform, for Vallas coming to town? And was that change or status quo threatening to more than a few? Has Vallas been more ‘independent’ than some have understood?

      If we begin thinking about City governance and administration globally as I try to do daily, why did Judge Lopez not also look at our Finance, Assessor, Public Works, Purchasing and other departments to discover why so many are “Acting” as opposed to having a full title with full certifications? Are some of them qualified by competence, perhaps? Do some of them need more courses, certificates, etc. to lose the acting? I will take qualified, most days, over certified for someone with practical experience in similar situations. Is there “performance evaluation” machinery, tradition or perspective in the City to allow for that?

      AND NOW BEWARE’S STORY: “He was to do their bidding … privatize, break the unions, bring in TFA, charter chains, cut down on the labor costs, salaries, pensions, funnel the money elsewhere, suck off the public teat, pack it up in three years and move the circus reform on to the next unsuspecting failing city.” Questions: With 18 months on the job, where were the big layoffs, school closings, privatization or new administration-sponsored Charter schools? Did anyone observe TWO balanced budgets? If this was the plot for your VALLAS THE VILLAIN story, why are you happy when the ending is not supported by the real storyline?

      (That is better than the City side for 2012 and 2013. And “I am Accountable Mayor Finch” took funds from the 2013 budget and Sherwood failed to tell the Council the truth on that matter when asked a direct question ($5 Million was not paid this year), and the “minimum budget requirement” for 2014 is still in contention and not settled.)

      “Show me the money” is the order of the day and that may be what many are forgetting. There is $600 Million or more authorized for the City schools over the next five years. Who supervises this? Who has the MISSION, looking after the MONEY, and where does the public see the MINUTES or attend the MEETINGS of what MEMBERS? Are these all UNION CONTRACTS? Who will tell me about the School Building Committee and its subsidiary Finance group?

      Where is there provision for jobs for people in the City in school and the upcoming Jewish Home for the Elderly? Council members continue to ask and no one responds. And is any of this because Vallas has been businesslike in other cities in dealing with unions? As a public manager has he settled contracts with unions that do not maintain a status quo but are still win-win? Is the prospect of change for some that scary? Time will tell.

      And for those who are tired of my sign off, too bad! Rome was not built in a day. The messes or the chaos in the City are sizable and complicated. I don’t ride a horse. While I ask a lot of questions, most go unanswered, so I feel no special need to answer all those asked in this column, today. I am present and write in my own name and care about the youth, the City employees of integrity, my fellow taxpayers and more. So tomorrow is another day and … time will tell.

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      1. All of the privatization plans would have worked under mayoral control. That defeat threw a wrench in their plan. From the Pelto blog … An informed citizen. Read it and weep, JML:

        I’m happy about this. It’s a battle won but the war continues. Vallas was hailed as a master reformer yet left nothing but disaster, lost lawsuits, and chaos in his wake wherever he went.

        -Chicago has had to be re-reformed by Arne Duncan, Jean Paul Brizard, and now Barabara Byrd Bennett. The NYT declared Chicago schools the most segregated in the nation in 2012.

        -Philadelphia schools have been in a tailspin for over a decade, despite Vallas’ “success” at privatizing their management and the state has all but starved the system to death. He left a $73 million dollar deficit behind.

        -New Orleans’ Recovery School District, created by Vallas, is the worst performing district in the state. After firing nearly all of the experienced teachers he lost a lawsuit when they filed for wrongful termination.

        Vallas was and is a political appointee with a desire for fame, fortune, and an ego the size of the moon. Whatever well-meaning he may operate under, he has a history of leaving devastation in his wake and yet he falls ever upward.

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      2. John Marshall Lee, once again, come on man, now you want to blame retired Judge Lopez for not going into an area to fight that you want, well you and others need to go to court just like she did to get the results you want. Have you spoken to Judge Lopez?

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    1. beware,
      You have been at the BOE meetings, but your ONLY concern has been to have your PROGRAM reinstated. With some of the less than positive comments here and elsewhere about the drug program pre-12/13, were your historic ‘program’ to be reviewed by Judge Bellis, for instance, or other ‘authorities,’ would it have held up as a ‘program’ for efficient dealing with drugs and drug culture among the HS population? I do not know. But I do know you were not raising other issues of VALLAS AS VILLAIN on a regular basis. It was about your job and how you wished to regain it. How does that taste, Dave? Time will tell.

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      1. JML … remember the game when you were a kid trying to find something hidden? You’re hot … you’re cold. You are so cold. I have never worked for, with or near Vallas and I never will. I like my colleagues to be capable, competent and professional. So you see, he’s out. You are so full of yourself it is hard to see the forest through the trees. You need to get out more.

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  20. Ron Mackey,
    Even though I concur with your assessment of a further court challenge, let me embellish that thought a bit more.
    Why would the Mayor use city taxpayers’ money to finance this charade? As I see it …
    By a 5 – 4 vote the Bridgeport Board of Education approved a resolution authorizing the use of school funds to challenge Judge Bellis’ ruling that ordered the board to terminate Superintendent Vallas. Included in the resolution was language that required the city to seek an injunction since Mr. Vallas might be irreparably harmed in that now that his alleged credentials have been seriously damaged he might find it impossible to find other employment. The board noted the only party that might be harmed by retaining Vallas would be the students but they have been so damaged it might be impossible to cure.
    When some members suggested the matter was out of order, BOE President Moales ruled in an unseen opinion the City Attorney has opined since he is the only one who can hire attorneys he does not need BOE approval. The meeting was adjourned without a vote.
    Vallas supporter John Marshall Lee was present at the meeting with a snow shovel in hand saying he was there to try to shovel the shit upstream since it was flowing against the Mayor and Superintendent at such a rapid rate. He was heard gurgling “Time will smell.”

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  21. Let’s not forget this all started almost three years ago when a small group (Meghan Lowney, working for the Mandel’s Zoom Foundation; Nate Snow, Teach for America; Paul Timpanelli, Bpt Regional Business Council; Bob Francis, RYASAP; Lee, a Westport consultant representing the Mayor; and Alan Taylor, Chair of the State Board of Ed) conspired and orchestrated the illegal takeover of the Bpt Public Schools.

    This illegal action (from which several have benefited financially) was done by a crew who don’t even live in our city. It resulted in Vallas being hired. It has cost our city hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. It has not improved our schools.

    The budget crisis Vallas takes credit for fixing was created by the five years Mayor Finch froze the city’s contribution (and now he’s fighting the $3+ million more required by the Ed Reform law pushed by this same crew).

    They are not committed to Public Education. They want to privatize, make money and break unions.

    DON’T FORGET, THIS CREW MORPHED–AFTER THE ILLEGAL TAKEOVER–INTO EXCEL BRIDGEPORT.

    Congratulations to Judge Lopez and all of the others who have opposed this Education Deform effort, this mechanized education movement, this national effort to demean educators. We want for all of our children in Bridgeport, the same commitment to high-quality public education they get for their children at their wealthy suburban public private schools.

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    1. Rob Traber,
      Would you please acknowledge in your comments above the ‘LEE’ name in your listing above is a person other than John Marshall Lee.
      I have participated in the Library referendum question on the side of Library funding.
      I participated actively with y’all on the Charter opposition this past year.
      As a supporter of resources for schools I have also been present at multiple City Council meetings in 2013 calling attention to the lack of adequate City funding for BOE.
      It might be an open, accountable and transparent statement as well as the TRUTH. Time will tell.

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  22. If you want to improve the Bridgeport School system, mandate 10% of the students in Greenwich and Westport must attend Bridgeport schools. Either real reform will happen or those two towns will turn down state funding making more money available for Bridgeport. Time will smell …

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      1. Hiding from Jonathan Pelto. Who needs “news” anyway when we have his blog? Or maybe they are afraid Moales will curse at them and threaten to sue them … that’s one way to get some money.

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        1. You mean the no facts and opinion-filled Wait What bitter man who did not get the job he was sure was his after the last campaign he worked on? No wonder you like him. Did you really ask for $250,000 to run your peer-to-peer program–the one the teachers hated because you pulled students out of class for pizza parties?

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  23. I’m not liking the tone and language against JML from some of you trolls. He is entitled to his opinion. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing trolls walking around with their faces in shape of a snow shovel. So relax and let the good trolls roll.

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    1. JML can take care of himself, but he seems to have disappeared. It would take a while to read the full court document and decide how to spin it. The V team must have put in an all-nighter. His days are numbered. “Time will tell.”

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  25. Maybe someone can fillin the blanks for me. If this was privatizing, why did the unions not step in instead of Lopez?
    Charles Carroll’s brother runs the Fairfield county union … Never mind.

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  26. So now where does this leave the most important piece in all of this … the students? All of the adults with the political fighting, and the students will go through another potential upheaval. Someone new will want to implement their own curriculum and programs. And if they are not aligned with what Vallas has put in place, then it will cost to swap those out. I wonder, what candidate will the Board agree upon? It is clear the 5-4 division will remain, so what candidate will both sides find acceptable enough to let them do their job? If they get a candidate the Dems like, but not the WFP, the Dems can vote to hire and WFP will fight that person tooth and nail. I know the WFP are the darlings of these boards, but they are not the most collaborative group. So any new Supt not voted 9-0 is going to face the same battles as Vallas, Ramos, etc., and the kids will suffer. The upcoming BOE elections are going to be interesting. I challenge the voters on this board and the local media to REALLY examine the credentials of EACH CANDIDATE/EACH PARTY regardless of incumbent or not. We don’t need yes men/women, but we also don’t need fighting for sake of fighting or personal agendas.

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  28. This is an embarrassing loss for Gov. Malloy, Mayor Finch and Commissioner Pryor. I look forward to reading the Judge’s opinion which will be appealed. They only thing that is certain is more costs to taxpayers and more uncertainty for Bridgeport’s school system.

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  29. People, you all seem to forget the evil genius behind this all, who put Bellinger into the hothouse, before it got too steamy, whose husband (or is it wife?) works for Malloy, who controls Finch’s every move.
    Our man of the hour in the middle of the big top circus riding the camel.
    Does anyone of minute intelligence think for one second any politician can hatch a plan like this?

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    1. Chosen 1, you have been bringing up some good points and in your last two postings. We know the mayor does not have the intelligence to think and hatch a plan like this. What is Mayor Finch’s employment history, how many jobs has he had in the private sector? Always follow the money, so who has the money and power to hatch the takeover of the school system?

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      2. Bridgeport Economic Development Council where he worked for the real boss of Bridgeport, Paul Timpanelli, who is most suspect of being behind a lot of this.

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      1. After last week’s antics, where he feels he is the greatest show on earth, bigger than Barnum and the festival itself, I’d venture to say he thinks himself as 10ft tall and bulletproof.
        Politicians come and go and they get caught and put in jail (sometimes). Stafstrom’s way too smart to be a politician or think he is one.

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  31. My single-mother BOE-employed sister seems to have summed this up pretty well, “the BOE workers have no clue the bullet that was just dodged thanks to Judge Lopez and her legal team. They all would have been in a private world they know nothing about while the rich get richer.”

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  33. Why does the education system not do a better job of serving our students’ interests? The answer, because it is not designed to. It is designed to serve the interests of the State.
    It has mistaken its customers for its product. A functional education system would properly recognize its customers are students and its products are various kinds of education, ranging from classical liberal arts studies to forms of specific occupational training. The State’s interest in education are complex and sometimes incompatible with one another. Some of those interests are, in fact, the State’s publicly stated interests: developing responsible citizens, providing skilled labor to economic enterprises, etc. Those goals are legitimate and well-intended, though our system does a remarkably poor job of achieving them. The nation’s best technological, scientific, and financial firms are increasingly compelled to go abroad for top-level talent, and employers represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complain constantly about the poor quality of American high school and college graduates. The cell phone in your pocket gets better and cheaper every year, the public schools down the street gets more expensive and less functional every year.
    All serious education reform programs must put private citizens–students and their families in charge of appropriating education funds, rather than political bodies–and it is for the same reason the education establishment, notably the teachers’ unions but also administrator and most career education professionals, is red in tooth and claw in its opposition to removing political controls from education dollars … Not my words, but from The End Is Near And It’s Going To Be Awesome … I think he has some very great observations and insights to what is going on not only in Bridgeport, but Nationwide.

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  34. My good friend JML has received considerable criticism for his opinion on the Vallas matter. It is an opinion he is entitled to have. It is an opinion he is entitled to articulate. It is also the only opinion of his with which I have disagreed. You see, I am continually critical of JML not for what he says but of the ungodly boring manner in which he says it. Accordingly, I say the issue of Vallas’ ability to demonstrate required credentials is the topic of this dialogue, not JML’s opinion.

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    1. Well said, yahooy.

      On another note, I can see there are so many excited about the Vallas decision. Now BPT schools can return to the greatness they had a few years ago before he came here and ruined it all (yes, sarcasm).

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      1. So excited, they had a Fireworks Celebration Friday night. With this appeal coming, it remains to be seen if Vallas will or will not be walking into the building next time the School Bell(is) rings on the first day of school.

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  35. This is my first posting on OIB. I own a business in Bridgeport and I also serve on the board of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. I live outside of Bridgeport and so you can consider me as an Outlier (no vested interest). I joined the BRBC to promote my business four years ago, however I was very surprised to find the BRBC (Business oriented) was trying to improve the public education system in Bridgeport. Mr. Timpanelli had convinced his membership (nearly 1,000) it was very important in the long term that Bridgeport improve its education system. I was pretty stunned, as this was not business as usual. This was a different organization that was looking at the big picture. Well-educated citizens make outstanding employees for employers. Connect the dots. I know Bridgeport for all intents and purposes is bankrupt (my opinion). Mayor Bill Finch (whom I consider to be an honest man) is trying his best to make do with less. Bridgeport was once an industrial powerhouse, but was left a highly contaminated, poverty stricken city due to an unregulated business climate. Bridgeport needs smart dedicated people, not yes men. I met Paul Vallas and I was mesmerized by his vision and dedication to education. If he is a fraud, please strike me dead. He is a man on a mission and Bridgeport is very lucky to have his leadership. I don’t have the answers for Bridgeport, however I know the coffers are barren and the city doesn’t have any extra dollars to spend on litigation. The people of this great city need to come together and realize there is a common goal of providing the children of Bridgeport with a real educational opportunity. Let’s forget about the past and focus on what is best for the children of Bridgeport.

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    3. Milkman–thanks for your post and point of view. As always, things in Bridgeport are complicated–good to hear a different, more positive voice on here.

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  36. I am sooo confused–how exactly will the hedge funds make a fortune in the charter/private schools that were going to be opened a few people here keep talking about?

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    1. It seems privatization is a subtle matter. A lot depends on bankrupting a system, or otherwise wrecking it to make it unworkable–when there is no alternative to private for-profit operations and they become the only game in town, employment procedures can become simplified: work how and when we tell you, take what we pay you or get lost. There will be no unions at this point to protect workers’ rights and wages, and the troublesome matter of pensions and healthcare benefits can be disposed of. And of course clients of said operations will not have much choice as to where to take their business. Carpetbaggers from out of state, corporatists posing as liberal Democrats, and baffle-them-with-bullshit types will rule the day. Keeping employment tight and wages subdued will suppress inflation, so the wealth of the ruling class in the top 1% will not be diluted. Deflation could be a problem, but not for the wealthy. Privatization has taken effect in many prison systems, for example, providing an economical workforce for big business. Foolishly (intentional or otherwise) managed cities (and states?) lurching into bankruptcy will provide fertile ground for private (as opposed to public) interests, and creative entrepreneurship will flourish. How exactly will the hedge funds make a fortune? Don’t worry, they’ll think of something. In the case of education, could “providing a better education” really mean tracking more kids into student debt and getting those already trapped to work cheaper? As mentioned previously, “Follow the money.” Does it flow to the top, or does it disperse outwards to benefit the rest of the population?

      Re prison workforce:
      www .huffingtonpost.com/steve-fraser/private-prisons-_b_1439201.html

      A favorite privatization story:
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal

      Student loans scheme:
      Ad