One
day after news of Patricia Malgieri’s hire by the Rochester school
district leaked out, Rochester Teachers Association President said
Malgieri is no friend of public education.
Urbanski
was reached by phone this afternoon.
Malgieri
has been hired as chief of staff to Rochester schools Superintendent
Bolgen Vargas.
Urbanski
said his experiences with the former deputy mayor Malgieri have not
always been pleasant.
Malgieri
has been a strong proponent of charter schools, privatization, and
crushing unions rather than working with them, Urbanski said.
But
Vargas didn’t seek Urbanski’s advice prior to making the decision
to pick Malgieri, even though Urbanski has been one of the new
superintendent’s strongest supporters. Urbanski said he was
surprised by the decision and that he told Vargas so.
“If
he had sought my advice in advance, he would not have made the
decision,” Urbanski said.
Urbanski
said Vargas urged him to keep an open mind. And he described Vargas
as a risk taker who wants to bring the community together to help the
district.
“I
know Bolgen to be a well-intentioned and sincere man,” Urbanski
said. “He wants to work collaboratively with those who have not
always supported public education in Rochester.”
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2012.
