The supporters of the Working Families Party and United Federation of Teachers didn't like it when editorial writers suggested recently that they were manufacturing parental noise to advance their own agendas as they opposed yet the latest planned reorganization effort for the city Department of Education.

But then they probably should have tried harder to make sure their crowd of "angry parents and students" were actual NYC public school parents and students. From the NY Post story on last night's ruckus at the Panel for Educational Policy meeting:

Organized by the Working Families Party and a handful of advocacy groups that had put together past rallies, the protest attracted a hodgepodge of participants, including some with no apparent stake in the city's public-school system.

One boisterous 17-year-old student from Cardinal Hayes HS, which is run by the New York Archdiocese, said he attended the rally at the request of his neighborhood community center in The Bronx.

Another protester was the father of two children who attend school in New Jersey.

Perhaps real working NYC parents couldn't attend because they were, uh, working or helping their kids get their homework done, or picking them up from swimming lessons, etc. Or maybe some actually like the idea of decentralization because they see their schools as the most important piece of the puzzle, not a centralized, bureaucratic cartel.

Note to parents who do have genuine concerns about the impact the reorganization plans will have on your kid's school: You gotta find a messenger that actually cares about your needs.

WFP= Working Families Party, or Won't Find Parents? It's getting harder to decide.

Bonus Afterthought: How many fake parents will there be on the thousands-long waiting lists from this spring's charter school lotteries in New York?