UFT President Randi Weingarten on Gov. Spitzer's Budget January 31, 2007

Mar 19, 2007 12:16 PM

“The governor has made a historic monetary commitment to education for the kids in New York City and has followed through on it. While we will continue to fight to make smaller class sizes as high a priority as universal pre-k, we applaud his proposals to hold chancellors and superintendents more accountable and to reduce waste.

 

“At the same time, we are disappointed with his proposal on charter schools. As an operator of two charter schools, we have experienced firsthand the importance of accountability. Any consideration of raising the cap must be accompanied by other reforms, such as transitional aid, labor rights and more parent input.

 

“The governor's proposal to give Chancellor Klein 50 charters to dole out as he wishes runs counter to his pledge of top-to-bottom accountability. The current chartering entities, SUNY and the Board of Regents, have strict accountability and there's no reason to add another entity. The DOE has a poor track record of listening to teachers and parents.”