New York, NY – Bloomberg Warns of 21,000 Teacher Layoffs

New York, NY – New York City could lose $1 billion in education aid from the state, forcing the nation’s largest school system to cut more than 21,000 teachers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday.

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to unveil next week his first budget proposal since taking office on New Year’s Day, Mr. Bloomberg and his new schools chancellor, Cathie Black, are bracing for what could be devastating cuts to city schools.

On his weekly radio show, Mr. Bloomberg stressed that he has yet to receive word of a definitive budget proposal from the governor. “Scuttlebutt is that the education budget will be cut statewide, and New York City’s share of that would be a billion dollar cut,” he said.

If the governor proposes a $1 billion cut and the Legislature approves it, the mayor estimated the city would be forced to cut 15,000 teachers, most of which would be accomplished through layoffs. That’s on top of plans, outlined by the mayor in November, to cut 6,166 teachers in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

In total, the administration is facing the specter of losing 21,000 teachers in the coming months—most through layoffs. An aide to the mayor warned that these numbers will change as negotiations with lawmakers over the state and city budget begin in earnest in the coming weeks.

The city’s Department of Education currently employs roughly 75,000 teachers.

A tenure rule in state law requires that the teachers hired most recently be the first to face layoffs. As a result, city officials estimate that every teacher hired during the last five years would be let go if the state moves forward with a $1 billion cut in aid to city schools.

The mayor and his new chancellor have launched an intense lobbying campaign to persuade the state to change the laws regarding last in, first out. On Friday, Ms. Black said she would “fight tooth and nail to keep the best teachers in the classrooms. It cannot be about whether a teacher has been in the system for two years or 22 years.” Parts of the South Bronx could lose 27% of their teachers due to the prevalence of rookie teachers in the area, she said.

Mr. Bloomberg signaled strong opposition to the seniority rules during his State of the City address earlier this month. “By not allowing schools to take merit into account, the state would not only deprive our children across the city of great teachers, it would increase class size, because more teachers would need to be laid off, since the newest teachers get paid lower salaries,” he said. “It’s not right. It’s not fair.”

On Friday, the mayor said he’s sympathetic to the governor, who is scrambling to combat a deficit of roughly $10 billion.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal