Speaker Quinn Proposes DOE Budget Cuts
City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn proposed $75 million in cuts to the Department of Education (DOE) budget on Wednesday. The proposal aims to eliminate redundancies by laying off staff, while curbing technology, transportation, and contract spending, among other items. “We have grave concerns about a budget that allows for teacher layoffs and the immensely damaging effects they would have on our education system. Make no mistake—we will do everything in our power to prevent teacher layoffs,” Quinn said in a joint statement. Over 6,000 teaching jobs are on the line. The statement coincided with a council hearing on the 2012 education budget also held on Wednesday. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott faced sharp criticism from councilors. “You have still chosen to eliminate over 5,700 teachers. You have still chosen to increase contract spending by over $700 million and you have still chosen to increase central administration’s budget by $15 million while cutting funding for schools by $325 million, that’s a shame,” said Councilman Robert Jackson.
DOT Suspends Chinatown Bus Operator
SkyExpress, the operator of the Chinatown-bound bus that crashed in Virginia on Tuesday, killing 4 people and injuring 54, was suspended by the Department of Transportation on Wednesday. The bus line received an unsatisfactory rating and an out-of-service order from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). According to a news release issued by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the operator was found to be in violation of multiple federal safety regulations. “Safety is our number one priority. We will use every resource at our disposal to pursue and remove from our roads unsafe, reckless bus companies.” The driver, Kin Yiu Cheung, a Flushing resident, is being held on $3,000 bond and is charged with reckless driving. SkyExpress has offices in Chinatown.
CityTime Contractor Shuts Down
TechnoDyne, a Wayne, N.J.-based IT consultancy company on the troubled CityTime payroll, has suddenly ceased all operations and terminated its employees Wednesday, according to a memo issued on Tuesday. According to the information received from an anonymous source by the New York Times, the top executives, Reddy and Palma Adden, have left for India. TechnoDyne has over 500 employees worldwide and offices in Latin America, Singapore, New York, New Jersey, and Bangalore. The shutdown is the latest in a series of escalating events and follows the arrest of an executive of another contractor, last week, on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. The investigation unfolds following charges filed by federal prosecutors in December 2010, against several CityTime contractors’ employees. One consultant pleaded guilty to bribery and other criminal charges in February. CityTime has increasingly become an embarrassment and a liability to Mayor Bloomberg, as its costs inflated from an estimated $68 million to over $700 million.
