NY1 Exclusive: Schools Chancellor Backs Proposal To Overhaul Teacher Layoffs
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Schools Chancellor Cathie Black is calling for an overhaul of the seniority system for city teachers when it comes to layoffs.
During an exclusive interview on NY1's "Inside City Hall" Thursday, Black said she agrees with the mayor who called on Albany lawmakers to give him the right to lay off teachers without regard to seniority -- a request the teachers union is strongly fighting.
The new chancellor says the proposal makes sense.
"We know, study after study shows the most effective people in front of our students, are the best teachers possible. So we should keep the best teachers, not only base it on seniority. We don't want to base it on seniority," said Black. "I don't think it has to do with if they come year after year. It ought not to be about the number of years; it ought to be about who is best to educate our children."
Black also apologized again for joking to a group that birth control is a good way to solve classroom overcrowding.
She also said that her long experience in the business world prepared her for the controversy surrounding her appointment to chancellor.