Fran Rabinowitz has been busy in her year as interim chief of city schools dealing with a host of issues, good and bad, involving the district in the state’s most populous city. And that includes “advocating for resources for all of Bridgeport’s children and sit at the table with charter, magnet, parochial to discuss “best practices” and how we can advocate for the resources we need will be advantageous to all of us.”
In a December 14 email to school board members providing a summary of her activities from December 8-12, Rabinowitz includes attendance of a breakfast hosted by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit where school board member Ken Moales serves as pastor.
“I attended the IMA Black ministers breakfast at Holy Spirit Cathedral on Saturday,” she writes in the email. “I had a good discussion with all of the pastors and my hope is that we can collaborate on advocating for resources for all of Bridgeport’s children and sit at the table with charter, magnet, parochial to discuss “best practices” and how we can advocate for the resources we need will be advantageous to all of us. I learned a great deal and saw the wonderful programs that Reverend Moales and his Church offer to the needy children of Bridgeport.”
Charter schools that run independently of traditional public institutions but receive public funds have become both a government and political debate in the city. Charter advocates maintain they provide more opportunities for students while opponents argue they drain critical resources from traditional public schools. Advocating for charter and private schools is a delicate balance for Rabinowitz who could receive some blowback from education advocates and parents who embrace traditional public schools. Shouldn’t her loyalties and priorities, they assert, rest with the public school students she represents?
It’s hard to say how long Rabinowitz will remain in the interim capacity. It appears selection of a permanent school leader is down the road. Some of this depends on how quickly new Board of Education chair Dave Hennessey wants to push for a long-term leader.
Rabinowitz’s email provides insight into the weekly life of the school leader.
Summary of December 8-12, 2014
1. Dr. Kelleher invited me to her class on Monday to observe and ask questions of the students.. Amy Marshall and I attended. Students were presenting their ideas for new schools. What would they look like/ What would they address? It was wonderful to hear their ideas- many of which would be ours, if we could begin all over again. This was the students’ (juniors) first class in Education and I was very impressed at their knowledge of SRBI, special education and workable processes. Of course, Dr. Kelleher is their teacher!2. I visited Cesar Batalla with the mayor this week to observe Total Learning. I really like what the program is doing for our Family Resource centers. It provides excellent pre-reading skills for infants and toddlers. Our program was written up in the CABE Journal this week.
3. Of course, the greatest news of the week is that we have the grant for preschool. It is a wonderfully exciting step on our way to Universal Preschool Access for all. There will be many issues to work out but it is going to be a significant step forward for all of Bridgeport. The mayor and I did a press conference on Thursday at Cross School.
4. Budget discussions are continuing. I hope that when you deliberate in January that you invite in the Directors of the various programs. They came to the table incredibly well prepared with excellent documentation on the needs and the reasons for the needs. We have had excellent discussions.
5. The audit of facilities and security is about completed. NESC will be ready to present within the next month. There are many interesting findings and recommendations that can be put into effect immediately.
6. We met with the police department this week to consider a camera program for our busses. It is a program to film those cars which illegally pass our school busses when they are stopped. It has been implemented in Hamden and Norwalk with very good results. We are just discussing right now. There is extra work for the police department but I think it makes our schools safer.
7. The Washington based Project Director for Arts Turnaround Schools met with Nadira, Tanya and me this week to discuss expansion of the program. It is a very effective program with positive results. They have been impressed by Roosevelt and want to expand. I am definitely in favor but we’ll have to have a Performing Arts Director in place (which we should have anyway). The benefits are extraordinary. You will see the Director in the budget.
8. I attended the IMA Black ministers breakfast at Holy Spirit Cathedral on Saturday. I had a good discussion with all of the pastors and my hope is that we can collaborate on advocating for resources for all of Bridgeport’s children and sit at the table with charter, magnet, parochial to discuss “best practices” and how we can advocate for the resources we need will be advantageous to all of us. I learned a great deal and saw the wonderful programs that Reverend Moales and his Church offer to the needy children of Bridgeport.
Sorry for the length- it was a busy week!
Fran
After this posting it is time to start the search for a new education leader now. I am sure Moales showed her a thing or two.
She has the utter nerve to praise Kenneth Moales who has repeatedly attacked her at BBOE meetings. The same Kenneth Moales who has a third daycare location in the very church where this IMA meeting was held. The exact same daycare run by Moales that got caught overbilling the BBOE by $75,000 for non-existent children while he was chair of the BBOE. The same Kenneth Moales who started overbilling after he had received repeated delinquency notices from his mortgage company, but right before the foreclosure was filed in court. The same Kenneth Moales who got caught overbilling, was forced to repay the debt and made sure neither he nor Paul Vallas shared one bit of this fraudulent activity with the other eight BBOE members.
This is whom Fran Rabinowitz has chosen to bestow praise upon, and this is whom Dave Hennessey, Joe Larcheveque, Hernan Illingworth, Andre Baker and Kadisha Coates have chosen to form an alliance with.
Shame on every single last one of them.
Moolah-La! I guess Fran is going for that J-o-r-d-a-c-h-e look! Or is it For Members Only???
I thought Christmas was over. Ho Ho Ho!!! Read this and weep.
www .raisinghale.com/2013/12/02/dot-contractor-gave-connecticut-democrats-weeks-after-selection/
These damned politicians are as crooked as the day is long. They are crooked from the lowest elected office (council) to the highest level and they don’t care who knows it.
Fran R must be playing politics or she is doing what Finch told her to do. Dealing with Moales and praising him, what BS. Here is a message. I don’t want my tax money going to Catholic schools, charter schools and any other God-damned school they can think of. I suggest the people on the BOE start doing things to help the kids in Bridgeport.
Totally agree, Andy!
Totally agree Andy and Steve, and I don’t want to see my tax dollars going to pay a Bridgeport Public School superintendent to lobby on behalf of private schools either.
I remember sitting at one of Andre Baker’s first Finance Committee meetings where Fran Rabinowitz publicly supported allowing Mayor Finch to underfund the BPS for both 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. I was absolutely stunned by her outrageous recommendation.
I have watched her very carefully since then, and I am confident she cannot be trusted and her word often means very little.
I am absolutely confident Fran Rabinowitz was in cahoots with Mayor Finch, Rob Traber and Dave Hennessey, and not only supported the December 8, 2014 coup, but was also actively involved in it.
Personally, I hope she still is around next December because I want to be instrumental in delivering her the holiday gift of her lifetime.
CT state statutes that govern public school superintendents are quite clear. The superintendent who is hired by a local school board to manage the day-to-day operations of the local school district, is hired by and paid by municipal taxpayers to advocate for the needs of true public school students, not students who are enrolled in charter and parochial schools.
She is the superintendent of the most underfunded district in CT and on top of that we will lose approximately $4 million to the five charter schools located in Bridgeport just this school year alone. We will lose an additional $26 million over the next four years, and she wants to advocate for the needs of charter schools and parochial schools.
What the BBOE should be doing is to move to terminate her asap, however I believe Rob Traber and Dave Hennessey are going to lead the charge to slow down the superintendent search to allow Fran to remain here as long as possible.
Fran Rabinowitz should be completely ashamed of herself and has clearly sold out to Mayor Finch, Rob Traber, Dave Hennessey and the disgusting Kenneth Moales so she can continue to earn $190,000 of our taxpayer funds, use of a vehicle and benefits on top of her very sizable pension.
What’s next, Rabinowitz joins the board of Steve Perry’s charter school?
Well, following the absurd logic of Moales, and as I heard him say publicly at a BOE meeting in 2014: It’s no conflict of interest if you announce it’s happening! Yes, OIB! OIB!
FtM, interesting that the McClutchy Family donated $30,000 to the State Democrats after being awarded a big DOT project in Stamford, the same McClutchy the City Council just approved for a big tax abatement for “Crescent Crossing,” the development project Kooris and Finch pushed through for the former Father Panic site with the squandering of Bridgeport’s share of the Sandy money forked over. $3 million, the Post said. But the Post is not pointing out all the DOTs to be connected!!!
The old saying is money talks and bullshit walks. Could the acting supt been lured by a promise of a permanent appointment by Finch and his cohorts? She would not be the first. Baker rolled over like a $2 hooker.
Andy, you are giving Andre Baker too much credit. I am sure it was for less than a dollar.