Now, there is good news and bad news. The good news, the city has just received additional revenue from the business community, a badly needed 2 billion dollars. The bad news: the mayor still says 6,000 teacher lay offs are necessary.
The Mayor has consistently said cuts must be made across the board, and everyone must sacrifice. But Mr. Mayor we are talking about teachers. More than 40 percent of our kids don’t graduate on time, and we are going to cut teachers. In many communities, teachers are front line role models for children that have very few people they can look up too.
Tough decisions must be made, but if your going to cut teachers, you might as well increase the jail budget. We can pay now, or we can pay later. We have all heard the saying that it cost 3 times more to lock up a young person than to send them to college. Just look at the statistics the mayor himself recently used showing that it cost over 200,000 a year to jail a juvenile at a upstate facility.
Here to hoping the mayor is only politically using teacher layoffs to help force his budget hand with Albany. I just hope in reality, it’s not Russian Roulette 10 years down the road , blowing up in the face of future mayors. Ruining thousands of young lives.
This is not being said as a bleeding heart liberal or someone who believes you just keep pumping endless money into education. Education should not be a “jobs program.“ This is being argued as someone who knows first hand, the difference NYC Teachers can make in the lives of young people.
It’s worth noting that UFT President Michael Mulgrew is doing an excellent job, and emerging as one NY’s best labor leaders, but that will be stated in full at a later time.
It’s not wise to lay off teachers. Mayor Mike, you can find another way.