Rogan Slams Cuomo's New Education Commission

The make up of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's newly formed education reform commission drew fire from the president of the Huntington Union Free School District this week.

At a school board meeting Monday at , Emily Rogan said the 20-member New NY Education Reform Commission lacked sufficient representation from local levels.

"I just wanted to go on the record and say I think it's horrible," said Rogan. "How do you look at education reform without getting input from the people that are actually dealing with what we are dealing with on a day to day basis?"

Bringing together nationally-recognized education, community and business leaders, Cuomo has stated the group will meet multiple times to gather input and information from across the state before submiting reform recomendations to the governor's office by Dec. 1, 2012.

"The commission will examine the current structure of the state's education system including teacher recruitment and performance, student achievement, education funding and costs, parent and family engagement, problems facing high-need districts, and the best use of technology in the classroom," said Cuomo, in a press release.

Rogan said it "bugged" her that Cuomo's commission appointees consist mainly of representatives from higher education and big organizations but nobody who is in the trenches doing what local school board members do. 

Currently running for a third term on the school board, Rogan said the outcome of the commission is something everyone should be following.

Cuomo named former Citigroup and Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons to lead the commission. Membership includes: 

• Richard (Dick) Parsons, retired chairman of Citigroup
• Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
• Geoffrey Canada, founder and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
• Irma Zardoya, president and CEO, NYC Leadership Academy
• Elizabeth Dickey, president Bank Street College of Education
• Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, president, Say Yes to Education
• Lisa Belzberg, founder and chair emeritus, PENCIL
• Michael Rebell, co-founder and executive director, Campaign for Educational Equity
• Karen Hawley Miles, president and executive director, Education Resource Strategies
• José Luis Rodríguez, founder and CEO, Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc.
• Sara Mead, associate partner, Bellwether Education Partners
• Eduardo Martí, vice chancellor of community colleges, CUNY
• Thomas Kane, professor of education and economics, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Jean Desravines, CEO, New Leaders 
• Michael Horn, executive director and co-founder, InnoSight Institute
• Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, SUNY 
• Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, CUNY
• John B. King, Jr., commissioner, New York State Education Department
• Sen. John Flanagan, chair, Senate Education Committee 
• State Assembly Member Cathy Nolan