STOP THE PRESSES! This is a total disaster for de Blasio and Fariña – and, most importantly, for NYC schoolchildren (who account for 2% of all U.S. schoolchildren). Ernie Logan, the long-time head of the NYC principals' union, is a good man, highly respected, not known for throwing bombs, and no fan of Bloomberg and Klein, so for him (and his members) to say that they have "lost confidence in the de Blasio administration" and that "a majority of [principals] would say they probably had a better shot of being able to effectively do their job under the old administration" is incredibly stunning and damning:

Now, however, Mr. Logan says he — and by extension, the 6,000 members of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators — has lost confidence in the de Blasio administration. In a column to be published in the union's newsletter this month, Mr. Logan writes of the Education Department, "Sadly, in the timeworn tradition of the D.O.E., there are so many cooks running around in the kitchen, the chefs don't know what kind of dish they're concocting." So many different mandates have been thrown at these schools, he writes, that "all we have is a recipe for disaster."

…During the Bloomberg administration, Mr. Logan was a frequent critic of the Education Department, including of the policy of closing schools. In the interview this week, he said many of his members had initially been pleased by the appointment of Ms. Fariña, a former teacher and principal, who as chancellor spoke about respecting educators.

Nonetheless, he said, if he were to ask all of his members now, "I think a majority of them would say they probably had a better shot of being able to effectively do their job under the old administration."

Principals' Union Says Mayor de Blasio Has Lost Focus on Students

By KATE TAYLOR

JAN. 10, 2016 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/nyregion/principals-say-mayor-de-blasio-lost-focus-on-students.html