Queens pols blast Carranza over DOE diversity strategies
BY MARK HALLUM
After a fiery letter signed by
nine city and state lawmakers
was misinterpreted as a call
for city Schools Chancellor
Richard Carranza’s
resignation, Queens
Councilman Robert Holden,
who penned the letter, is now
clarifying his stance.
In the letter to Mayor Bill
de Blasio, Holden claims the
Carranza’s attempt create
a more equitable education
experience for black and
brown students has instead
been turned against other
students through comments
made by the chancellor.
“While there is an obvious
need for improvements in the
schools that serve minority
communities throughout
the city, it is divisive to place
blame upon the students
and parents from other
backgrounds who are merely
pursuing the best education
possible for themselves and
their children,” the letter
read. “Furthermore, putting
department staff in a position
where they are made to feel
uncomfortable because of their
ethnicity is reprehensible.”
Holden concluded with
demanding that Carranza
“cease the contentious
rhetoric,” with one
bullet point in the letter
indicating “Cronyism in the
hiring process.”
Carranza responded at a
press conference to the claims
that recent intakes of employees
from California and Texas
were based on the candidate’s
Hispanic background.
“There are forces in this
city that want me to be quiet,”
Carranza said on June 10,
as reported by the New York
Post. “There are forces in this
city that want me to be the
good minority and be quiet
and don’t say a word. Don’t
bring the race issue up … you
go back through the last seven
chancellors and you do the
math … Who was hired, who
was not hired — what was
their process? How did they
get chosen? Who did they
know? Is it any wonder that
those individuals who have
been criticized are men and
women of color?”
Holden’s office issues
a clarification on the
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza Photo via Twitter/@
letter receiving feedback,
much of it in support of
the letter, spokesman
Daniel Kurzyna said in a
June 16 email.
“It’s important to note
that the undersigned are
not outright calling for the
resignation of the chancellor,”
Kurzyna said. “The letter
outlines some of the concerns
that these electeds who have
signed on, and the numerous
DOEChancellor
electeds who agree but were
unable to sign on, have on the
way the chancellor and his
administration operate.”
Another Holden spokesman
said Carranza was quick to
rebut criticism with claims of
racism saying, “We support
having diversity in our schools
but it’s not really a process
that can be forced.”
Four Queens City Council
members joined Holden
in signing the letter: Paul
Vallone, Peter Koo, Eric Ulrich
and Karen Koslowitz. Chaim
Deutsch of Brooklyn and Joe
Borelli of Staten Island also
put their signatures to the
letter head.
Meanwhile, other
lawmakers are coming to
Carranza’s defense.
Councilman Antonio
Reynoso, who represents
part of Ridgewood, issued a
response to the letter calling it
an attack on Carranza’s efforts
to challenge the status quo and
integrate the school system.
“Chancellor Carranza
inherited a public school
system with glaring racial
disparities,” Reynoso said.
“These inequities have
implications for every
aspect of a child’s education,
from the school admissions
process to educational
quality to resource allocation
to the severity of disciplinary
measures. Inequity in
our schools is not a new
phenomenon, but rather one
with complex origins and
systemic roots.”
Read more at QNS.com
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