Governor ties school aid to evaluations

Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised more money for city schools next year in his budget address on Jan. 17, a welcome reversal after three years of budget cuts. But he made the offer conditional: Local school districts, including the city Department of Education, will forfeit the funds if they do not agree with their unions on new teacher evaluation systems.

At a press conference at union headquarters following the budget speech, UFT President Michael Mulgrew thanked the governor for his leadership and said his terms might be just what was needed to propel the DOE back to the bargaining table and “do the tough work, to get this evaluation system done.” DOE representatives in late December walked out of talks to finalize an evaluation system for educators in 33 restart and transformation schools — negotiations that were expected to create the parameters for a citywide agreement covering all New York City teachers.

Indeed, the governor’s ultimatum did have the intended impact, with talks restarting on Jan. 24. “We are happy that the governor’s intervention over teacher evaluations has led to communication between New York City and the UFT,” said Mulgrew.

Cuomo proposed an $805 million, or 4.1 percent, statewide increase in education aid for the coming year, which would bring school aid to $20.3 billion, up from $19.5 billion this year. That would translate to about $224 million in increased education funds for the city. In addition, the governor offered another $250 million in a new competitive grant program for high-needs districts such as New York City. The bonuses would be awarded to districts that raise test scores and cut costs, the governor said.

Cuomo gave the State Education Department and the UFT’s state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers, 30 days to settle the union’s lawsuit challenging the State Board of Regents’ interpretation of the 2010 law, or he said he will impose an evaluation system of his own design. If local school districts, including New York City, do not implement a new evaluation system by Sept. 1, he said, they will not qualify for the competitive grant program. If local school districts have not agreed upon an evaluation plan with their unions and implemented it by Jan. 17, 2013, he said, they will lose their share of the across-the-board 4.1 percent increase in state school aid.

“No evaluation, no money, period,” the governor said.

The stakes are very high. The state has already cut off some $58 million in promised federal aid for the 33 city schools that are participating in the federal restart and transformation intervention models for schools labeled “persistently lowest achieving.” The federal government has threatened to withdraw the $700 million it promised to New York State as part of the Race to the Top program plus another $100 million in School Improvement Grants for persistently lowest achieving schools if the state does not adopt a system to evaluate teachers and principals, one of the program’s requirements.

The main sticking point in the New York City negotiations concerning the 33 schools has been the DOE’s refusal to agree to a fair appeals process for teachers who receive an “ineffective” rating. The DOE’s stance is that principals should have final say on ratings and that teachers should have no avenue to appeal a rating on substance.

In addition to the 4 percent increase in education aid, the governor left the SUNY and CUNY budgets at current levels. Other state agencies similarly will maintain the same level of funding they have now, the governor said. However the overall budget of $132.5 billion is slightly lower than the previous two years and closes a $2 billion budget gap, much of it through the increased revenue that will be generated as a result of the December income tax agreement that requires wealthy New Yorkers to pay a higher rate.