Budget Cuts Could Mean Layoffs For Recently Hired Teachers

Spencer T. Tucker

Speaking at the Christian Cultural Center in Canarsie, Mayor Bloomberg predicted that unless the rules changed to firing teachers based on performance and not seniority, the city may have to lay off almost every teacher hired within the past five years. Of course he can't say that for sure since Albany has yet to finalize a budget, but that didn't stop the mayor from making such hyperbolic claims to support his campaign to end "Tenure for Life." Bloomberg said, "Albany rules say when it comes to teaching, talent doesn't matter, results don't matter. I say enough with Albany rules!"

Albany plans to release the state budget tomorrow, and a spokesman for Governor Cuomo previously told the Wall Street Journal that it is "premature to speculate about the budget." But Bloomberg continued, "You just cannot do this. If the Governor’s budget contains education cuts, it must also contain changes to the law so that we can take merit into account when making these difficult decisions."

The Post reports there might be a super secret plan to fire up to 4,000 "nonteaching teachers," like those formerly kept in "rubber rooms," without having to deal with the "last in, first out" policy. However, UFT President Michael Mulgrew wasn't buying it, and thinks the goal should be to avoid layoffs altogether. He said, "The mayor's propaganda campaign isn't fooling anyone. Everyone knows that laying off teachers sends class sizes skyrocketing and hurts kids. The mayor should be working with us to prevent layoffs." But then he wouldn't get to blame anything on Albany!

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By Jaya Saxena in News on January 31, 2011 4:32 PM

Comments [rss]

ANGRYGOD11

For a guy who ignored term limits as supported by the majority of NYC voters twice and foisted two unqualified school chancellors, he is not making a good case for dumping state laws for local ones.

spiv

All well and good except for the obvious fact that bloompolean kisses up to the UFT when he needs the votes, and throws them under the bus when he needs someone else to blame for his budget issues.

the rubber rooms are just another reason to do away with all municipal unions and their entitlements.

unretrofiedforu

This. Why can't we lay off administrators? Oo the cronyism is strong with this one.

dead_himmler

I'm so sick of all these rubber rooms. They need to fire all the incompetent lazy teachers. In other words they need to get rid of at least 60% of these leeches. It would save millions of dollars for the state.

unretrofiedforu

What about the administrators? That would probably save BILLIONS.

just saying

And perhaps you were so sick that you couldn't read a newspaper?

Last April the city and the UFT agreed to permanently eliminate rubber rooms. As part of their agreement to finally eliminate rubber rooms, their goal was to completely resolve all pending cases by December 2010.

felixthecat

says the MTA guy who was on disability for a finger while running his moving business and posting his hypocritical comments here.

youngpro

says the asshole who made a promise to jump off the brooklyn bridge.

youre a liar obviously.

Rod

we already established that Himmler is troll and not a real person. when you rebut him he runs out of talking points immediately.

but he's certainly an energizer bunny of repeat the lie, repeat the lie!

dead_himmler

I love how a person is a troll when they disagree with your delusional views.

youngpro

and how it calls someone a troll despite commenting dozens of times on every post on gothamist.

Rod

wrong again.

if you disagreed with our views you'd rebut us.

but you don't.

you just say the same thing over and over:

the earth is flat, the earth is flat, the earth is flat.

when we point out we have photos that prove the earth is ROUND, your rebuttal to this is the original claim repeated:

the earth is flat, the earth is flat, the earth is flat.

that's how we know you don't mean what you really say.

i.e., a troll.