DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed a proposed compromise in Albany Monday that would allow him to fire thousands of teachers with non-classroom jobs regardless of their seniority, saying it won't solve the problem of underperforming teachers still working in the classroom.
The proposed compromise on the city's policy currently being negotiated by state lawmakers would be a drastic shift from the current "last in, first out" policy, which Bloomberg has staunchly opposed on the grounds that it protects bad teachers and and forces the city to fire some of its best teachers, the New York Post reported. But at a press conference Monday, he dismissed the compromise as a drop in the bucket.
Albany's plan is "not meaningless, but does not solve the problem," the mayor told reporters.
If Albany approves the proposed changes, Bloomberg would be allowed to fire between 2,000 and 4,000 teachers who do not work in the classroom — including those who have been sentenced to disciplinary probation. Other teachers that could be on the chopping block if the changes are approved would be those who are a part of the "absent teacher reserve pool," which consists of teachers employed at schools closed because of poor performance.
But the mayor said at the press conference there aren't enough teachers in the reserve pool to make a meaningful difference.
The mayor has pushed for a merit-based assessment to determine which teachers should be laid off. Last week, he warned that 15,000 teachers would be fired if the state delivers budget cuts on Tuesday that are as severe as many have feared.
"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. It must allow us to keep our best teachers," Bloomberg said Sunday, the Post reported. "I say enough with Albany rules."
The news comes days after former city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein blasted the teachers union, telling the Times of London that it's easier to convict a murderer than it is to fire a bad teacher.
