Disrespect Towards Teachers

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “Mayor’s Budget Seeks to Lay Off Five Percent of Teachers,” shows that a Republican is a Republican, no matter how “liberal.” Mayor Bloomberg released a proposed budget for the city yesterday with massive layoffs of teachers to balance it yet no increase in taxes. And, to make matters worse, according to current law, the layoffs are not based on any meritocracy but solely seniority.

The net effect of the layoffs would be to increase class size by an average of two students, not to mention the good teachers whose careers would be unnecessarily cut short. When did it become de rigeur to take these draconian measures, at a time when education of our children is so important to maintain competitiveness in the global marketplace, but refuse to raise taxes.

Fortunately, the proposed budget must be approved by the City Council before becoming effective, and the Council Speaker, Christine Quinn, has already pledged to find money for the cuts elsewhere. Still, it does show the priorities of Mayor Bloomberg and his rich Republican cronies when they balance the budget on the backs of our children’s future.

And kudos to The New York Times for emphasizing this story as the lead, drawing attention to a matter every bit as critical as Osama bin Laden.