Bloomberg pushes teacher evaluations

Mayor Michael Bloomberg sparked controversy and battles with teachers yesterday when he promised in his State of the City speech to set up an evaluation system making it easier to fire some ineffective teachers -- a change that could have wide implications if City Hall pulls it off.

"This year, we'll do more to make sure every classroom has an effective teacher -- and to remove those who don't make the grade," Bloomberg said.

Focusing heavily on education and job creation in his hourlong speech, Bloomberg said he planned to move forward with merit-based evaluations in 33 struggling schools -- in a system of 1,700 -- so that the city has a shot at $58 million in state funding.

Bloomberg also said he planned to hike the salary of teachers rated "highly effective" for two years by $20,000 annually, and to entice college graduates to teach in the city by paying off $25,000 in student loans.

United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew immediately blasted Bloom-berg's proposal, saying the mayor was living in a "fantasy world."

"It doesn't do the kids and the schools any good for him to propose the kind of teacher merit pay system that has failed in school districts around the country," Mulgrew said.

Last summer, according to news reports, the city Department of Education said it would discontinue a $56 million bonus program for teachers and staff because it had no significant effect on student performance or teacher attitudes about their jobs. Other studies of teacher bonuses reportedly came to similar conclusions.

Bloomberg has long pushed merit-based teacher evaluations for the 1.1 million student school system and yesterday he criticized the UFT for standing in the way.

Mulgrew said under state law the mayor's initiatives were ultimately the subject of collective bargaining and couldn't be unilaterally imposed. "If he's really interested in improving the schools his administration has mishandled, he will send his negotiators back to the table to reach an agreement on a new teacher evaluation process," Mulgrew said.

Before Bloomberg spoke at Gouverneur Morris High School, the crowd saw a short comedy video of him taking a livery cab to the Bronx, bopping in the backseat to a music riff from Lady Gaga and picking up former Mayor Edward I. Koch along the way.

Bloomberg tied his education plans to better jobs.

"If you come from a middle-class family, as I do, and if you believe that education is the ticket to the middle class, as I do, then there is no escaping the fact that we cannot accept failing schools," Bloomberg said.

The teacher evaluation program was one of five education initiatives the mayor announced. He said the city planned to open 100 new schools in the next two years, including 50 new charter schools.

To combat high unemployment rates in the Bronx, Bloomberg announced a series of projects, including redevelopment of the empty Kingsbridge Armory.