Schools

Teacher's Union Responds to Bloomberg's State of the City Address

Michael Mulgrew blasts the mayor's merit pay proposal.

The president of the United Federation of Teachers said Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in a “fantasy world” in response to yesterday’s , during which the mayor laid out a five-step process for improving city schools.

During his speech, Bloomberg proposed merit pay for teachers and vowed to remove “ineffective” teachers, improve college preparation for city students and open new charter schools.

In a statement, UFT President Michael Mulgrew criticized the mayor’s proposals.

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“The mayor seems to be lost in his own fantasy world of education, the one where reality doesn’t apply,” he said. “It doesn’t do the kids and the schools any good for him to propose the kind of teacher merit pay system that has failed in school districts around the country. As far as the ‘turnaround’ model goes, the mayor knows perfectly well that under state laws these kinds of initiatives have to be negotiated with the union. If he’s really interested in improving the schools his administration has mishandled, he will send his negotiators back to the table to reach an agreement on a new teacher evaluation process.”

In his speech, the mayor said he could remove up to half of the teachers at failing city schools that are in danger of losing nearly $60 million in federal funds if an agreement is not reached with the UFT on evaluations.

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