Governor Cuomo noted in his State of the State address that everyone in the education system in Albany from bus drivers to school board members has a lobbyist – everyone that is except for the ones who need it the most, our students.
“Our schools are not an employment program,” Governor Coumo has stated in the past, according to the New York Times.
This explains why more time has been spent in Albany worrying about the “business of education” — contracts, salaries, and benefits — than worrying about the children. This must be changed and our priorities need to be reversed.
That’s why Governor Cuomo has now declared that he will become the lobbyist for the students. And his goal will be to make major changes in our state’s education system, including shifting the focus in Albany to improving student performance and school accountability.
An important part of this reform is adopting a real teacher evaluation system. In 2010, New York was awarded a $700 million grant from the federal government that required teacher evaluations. But the state has failed to produce the system, and the schools are now at risk of losing this Federal aid.
The process is now bogged down in a lawsuit between the education unions and the State Education Department. To break the logjam, the Governor has announced that the State Education Department and the unions have 30 days to agree on a new effective teacher evaluation system. If they don’t, the Governor will propose an evaluation system in his 30 day budget amendments. Schools will be given one year to implement the system or risk forfeiting increases in education aid.
On Sunday the Washington Post praised Governor Cuomo saying he should be applauded because, “he has now set his sights on shaking up an educational bureaucracy that is better at spending money than serving children.”