By The TimesLedger
The heat is not on. It''s been a relatively cool summer and the threat of a power shortage does not appear imminent. Perhaps this is why several elected officials are withdrawing their support for a plan to build two natural-gas-powered turbines in exchange for a promise from the New York Power Authority to shut down the turbines in October 2004 if other power stations are up and running.
State Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood), City Councilman Walter McCaffrey (D-Woodside) and Queensbridge Houses Tenants Association President Nina Adams now say they consider the settlement brokered by the Queens borough president and Silver Cup Studios to be inadequate.
Fortunately, this does appear to be a deal breaker. The NYPA will go forward with the turbines, ensuring that the borough will have enough electricity to keep the air conditioners humming.
Meanwhile, the local politicians can huff and puff in front of their constituents and pretend they have a better idea. Too bad there isn''t a plant that can turn hot air into electricity.
Crowding summer school
It would be nearly impossible to look at the number of students either required or urged to attend summer school this year and not conclude that something is radically wrong with the city''s public school system.
In grades 3-8, 72,000 children were told that they had to attend summer school or risk being left back. Add to that an additional 106,000 grade-school students who were “encouraged” to attend summer school.
At the high school level, 118,000 students citywide were required to attend summer school. This year the Board of Education will spend $176 million on summer school. That''s more than the total education budget in most cities.
On the one hand, we applaud Chancellor Harold Levy for ending the practice of “social promotion” and demanding that students prove they can read and do math at an acceptable level before being promoted to the next grade. Nevertheless, we are alarmed that nearly 300,000 students in the public school system are failing.
What''s going on here? How is it possible that so many students are being asked to spend their summer in a classroom rather than going to the beach?
It gets worse. After the first two weeks of summer school, the Board reported that 23 percent of the grade school students required to attend did not show up. At the high-school level, 44 percent were no-shows.
Although there was some confusion again this year regarding parental notification, parents have no excuse for not sending their kids to summer school. At the end of each marking period, parents were told if their child was in danger of not being promoted. In addition, at the end of the school year, officials – including Levy – made calls to the homes of children required or urged to attend summer school. Parents have no excuse.
But the real question is not why kids are showing up for summer school. The real question is why so many children who sit in classrooms from September to June aren''t learning. Many of those who attend school this summer will do just as poorly as they did during the normal school year. At the very least, the people who run the school system must face the truth that something is radically wrong.
