L.I. lawmakers get an earful on teacher eval, tenure laws

Legislators say they’ve been getting an earful since approving controversial new rules for teacher evaluations and tenure.

Take Assemb. Andrew Garbarino (R-Sayville), for instance.

“I’m getting calls from everyone. I’m getting emails from everyone,” Garbarino said Thursday, less than 48 hours after the vote. “And at the gym this morning, a woman started yelling at me ’til I told her I voted no.

“Then she thanked me.”

Garbarino was one of 14 of Long Island’s 31 state legislators who voted against the evaluations measure, which officials say will more firmly tie teachers’ ratings to students’ scores on standardized tests.

The plan was pushed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as part of the state budget.