Teachers Protest Bloomberg’s Layoffs At Lafayette

Cablevision’s News 12 reported on a demonstration against potential layoffs by teachers at Lafayette Education Campus last Friday. If Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget goes into effect, as many as “6,000 teaching positions would be eliminated citywide,” according to the report.

While teachers warn of the overcrowding that will inevitably occur if school staff is cut, the mayor insists their efforts are misguided. Bloomberg says “these unions” should be picketing Albany, for slashing the city’s educational budget, not city hall.

There is one thing I’ve observed in area high schools, such as the former Lafayette High School, that have been closed only to reopen as  “campuses” which house two or more institutions. These re-opened spaces mean the creation of additional administrative positions, such as principal and assistant principal, to oversee the new ‘schools’. Common sense tells us these are unnecessary and redundant hires, not to mention positions that often draw six figure salaries. I wonder if our city’s schools would potentially be laying off this many staff if the mayor was more careful about adding new administrators?

News 12: Teachers march in Bensonhurst against proposed layoffs