Teacher Evaluations Deal Has Not Bridged Gap Between Mayor, Educators' Union
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Just one day after the city and teachers' union announced a major deal on the new teacher evaluation system, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew both made it clear on Friday that they are still not on the same page. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.News of the collaboration came separately Thursday — Mayor Michael Bloomberg was at City Hall with Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew in Albany, with the governor.
They had been deadlocked for months over how teachers who get poor ratings will be able to appeal under the new system.
Although they finally came to an agreement brokered by the governor, don't think the rocky relationship between the powerful union and self-proclaimed "education mayor" is on the mend.
"Knock it off, Mr. Mayor. We all can see what is going on here," said Mulgrew. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that your tenure on the schools has not worked out the way you wanted it to."
The union hoped the evaluation deal would get the mayor to back down from a plan he had announced in his State of the City address: to close and immediately reopen 33 struggling schools this summer, allowing the Department of Education to replace half the teachers.
But the mayor made it clear that the unprecedented plan will move forward, even threatening on the radio Friday morning to ramp it up next year.
"We can do the same thing next year with a whole bunch more schools, so that's an impetus for everybody to come together," said Bloomberg. "Let's use the process that was agreed to yesterday, rather than stretching it out."
While Bloomberg says he will close more schools if the union does not agree to the rest of the evaluation deal quickly, the union says it will not work with the city if he closes the schools.
"Forget the evaluation system. We're not going to amenable to working with him on anything if he continues to try to threaten people by trying to close schools," said Mulgrew. "That's an abuse of power, and what we will then start to do is start looking at how to take that power away from him."
The mayor said he will win in court, if it comes to that.
"In the end, the courts basically always hold that the administration was elected to run the school system. Dennis Walcott is the chancellor, he should make the decisions, and let's get on with it," said Bloomberg.
But when it comes to agreeing on how to move forward, it doesn't seem like either side is ready to get on with it.