Politics & Government

Gov. Cuomo Readies to Take Over Teacher Evaluation Negotiations

Unless an agreement is reached between the City and the UFT soon, the governor plans to empower the state Education Department to act as a key arbitrator

"A deadline is a deadline," said Governor Andrew Cuomo, regarding the United Federation of Teachers and the City's failure to reach an agreement over a teacher evaluation plan by the January 17 deadline.

And since the two quarreling parties have come to an impasse– already costing the city's school system about $240 million – the governor on Wednesday vowed to sign a new law empowering the state Education Department to act as an arbitrator, unless an agreement is reached soon, reported The Wall Street Journal.

In addition to sacrificing state money, the city could be at risk for losing hundreds of millions in federal funding.

Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Although Cuomo has affirmed to both parties his respect for collective bargaining and says he would prefer that the city and the union reach a negotiated settlement on their own, he is prepared to give State officials the ability to impose their own job evaluation system on New York City's teachers, reported the paper.

"This is truly an extraordinary circumstance," he said. "The impasse must be resolved."

Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here