On a positive note, it's nice to see my tax dollars discussed so publicly. Now we just have to figure out a way for New Yorkers to actually have a say on what lawmakers do with our donations.

It turns out the Department of Education may not lose $250 million for failing to reach a deal with the United Federation of Teachers over a new evaluation system. A judge said the funding from Albany cannot be revoked until a lawsuit filed by parents is resolved.

The State plans to appeal the judge's ruling. Governor Cuomo imposed the sanctions as a way to get school districts to meet a January deadline to create new systems to effectively evaluate teachers in the classroom. Mayor Bloomberg clashed with the UFT repeatedly over the issue, and the deadline was missed. Cuomo said this week he would impose a teacher evaluation system if the City and union do not reach one by June 1. What should happen now?

Should a teacher evaluation system be linked to education funding? Should Albany give the DOE the $250 million even though no plan is in place? Do you blame City Hall or the UFT for the failure to reach a deal?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

John,

I blame Cuomo, Bloomberg, Walcott and the unions for everything that is wrong with schools. None of them know anything about education. The best thing that we could hope for is that schools are removed from government and union influence and control.

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

Mayor Bloomberg has not negotiated Civil Service contracts in good faith. In fact he has not negotiated them at all. He is hoping to leave them for the next Mayor, who will realize the extent of mayor Bloomberg's spending and failure to negotiate. The sad part is the very people who voted the current Mayor into office will get the short end of the stick

Roscoe
Park Hill

Hi John,

Both Cuomo and Bloomberg should be ashamed of themselves. If something doesn't go their way they use strong-arm tactics along with verbal threats and sarcasm. WE TAX PAYING AMERICANS THAT HAVE BEEN BORN AND ARE STILL LIVING IN THIS STATE ARE GETTING MORE THAN ANNOYED ABOUT THESE SORT OF TACTICS. THIS IDEA OF US NEVER BEING CONSULTED ABOUT ANYTHING THAT PERTAINS TO US AT ALL. THEY GO BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND IT BECOMES MY WAY OR NO WAY AT ALL. YOU CAN ALSO ADD THE FLOCK OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO.

Thank you John,
maxxiee
mp

The Mayor and School Chancellor are absolutely on the right foot regarding teacher evaluation in NYC. The UFT is looking out for their own interests and not the students nor the school system.

Cameron.
UES

Bottom line is: Bloomberg is a union buster who wants to bring the UFT to its knees. He doesn't care about our kids; he simply wants to privatize the school system and channel money to his corporate buddies. I sometimes wonder if his corporate buddies have something on him.

Frances
East Village

I AGREE WITH THE RULING BLOOMBERG LOST HIS LEVARAGE AND DOESN'T SOUNDS HAPPY.

PEDRO
BRONX

The mayor is the one to blame for the loss of 250 million dollars. The UFT has tried to negotiate with this mayor to no avail. He has continuously blamed teachers for all of the problems with education. Demonizing teachers is not the answer. Tying flawed standardized test scores to teacher evaluations is not a fair way to evaluate teachers!

Anonymous

Punishing our children due to the failure of teachers and the Mayor to agree, seems sick & twisted. Why would any Governor suggest such a thing?

-Dan

Hi John,

Im amazed that funding is blocked from NYC schools at all! even due to an evaluation system that should have been in put in place long ago by our elected officials. if Bloomberg would stop worrying about soda pop sizes and foam cups he could've have prevented this. Why isn't Dennis Walcott being more proactive in helping to resolve this? OH Wait, i'm sure he's just waiting for daddy bloom-bucks to weigh in before he has something to say about it. Simply AMAZED at how low elected officials think of educating our kids.. i see a crime rate spike in a few years !!

Erik in Bushwick

The separation of funding and teacher evaluations should be sacrosanct. Children should not be pawns in this tug of war between the corporate world and labor. Bloomberg's legacy as the Education mayor is a farce with greater discord than that which existed under the Bd.of Ed. If all of the plans and schemes he attempted during his three terms were worthwhile, why are we still mired in such a dismal situation in our schools. The plain truth is that oligarchs, bureaucrats and anyone working within any educational system who has no deep knowledge of how children learn shall forever be clueless and will always do more harm than good.

Kenn from Bayside

It is ridiculous and criminal to punish children over politics. Education funding should be based on educational need and population. Bloomberg simply wants to be able to fire teachers early in their careers to keep salaries low. Look at the charter model. They have such a high turn over in staff they expend more energy recruiting than in staff development. This has more to do with the charter industry and money than any concern for students. The UFT would agree to an objective evaluation system.

Ron
East Village
DOE retired

Dear John,

The parents pay taxes to fund their children's education so that money is theirs for their children. The mayor added a new demand after the UFT thought they'd reached a deal because he thinks he is the CEO of NYC, rather than its mayor. He doesn't care about people, also evidenced by his recent actions (inactions) in the bus strike negotiations. As for the UFT's, a third person should have been added to negotiate.

Thank you.
Shelley from Park Slope

Funding should not be linked to Teacher evaluations. Schools have lost so much money during the last few years that they are barely able to service their children as it is!! The reason there isn't a new Teacher Evaluation in place is because of Bloomberg!! Whatever is put in place will affect students for many years to come. The UFT is just trying to make sure that whatever is put in place will insure that the students have the best teachers possible. Asking for a one year try out doesn't seem unreasonable. Any good businessperson tries out a new system before signing on permanently to work out the kinks.

--Still Hopeful in Glendale

This mayor does not want an evaluation plan. His record on education during his12 years in office has been a dismal failure. He has satisfied no one--not parents, nor teachers, nor administrators. He has made it clear that he wants charters that will enrich his people. He has no commitment to public education and everyone knows that. He wants to break the uft and , seeing that he can't, he wants to leave office blaming teachers for his dishonesty, duplicity and efforts at union busting. He is so transparent. Tonight was the first time he mentioned helping teachers... He's always said we needed an eval plan to fire them. He wants to go out with people blaming the union and not him. Two words about this education mayor...Cathie Black!

Joan

Good Evening John,

The state should have control of the $250 million. The state should mandate that the city use the money to create curricula for grades K-12 based on the Common Core standards. The state education department should commission current and former teachers to participate in writing the curricula. Right now, we teachers are making things up as we go along because we have no curriculum. The DOE spends its money on attorneys and consultants and therefore cannot be trusted to control the funds.

Janelle
4th grade ESL teacher
Washington Heights

I am all for Teacher evaluations. There are some great teachers left, but there are some of whom I persoanlly know need to go. What happens to the students of a teacher who degrates and yells at the class, but has made tenure and has a stack of complaints sitting in the Principals office but theyre "protected" by the the UFT? Or the teacher who has lost motivation. Sure you place a DOE observer in their class and they act as if theyre the perfect teacher. The test ratings and statistics of a school speaks wonders. When do we get to evaluate Administration?

Anonymous, NYC

Doesn't anyone see a Pattern here? Mayor Bloomberg will not negotiate fairly with any City Union. He is for Big Business and the Rich.

JIM-INWOOD