Thanks to UFT President Randi Weingarten's willingness to amend the contract without consulting rank and file, new math teachers can make more money than working ones.
90 teachers will get $5,000 bucks up front, and 400 a month for two years for agreeing to spend three years teaching in fun city. While I still don't see how that will help with long-term housing, or attract long-term teachers, it's certainly cheaper than dealing with the long-term problem, and right in line with NYC's thirty-year shortcut program.
In Nassau County, they generally pay teachers well, have small class sizes, and decent facilities for all students. They don't hire underqualified teachers who fail scores of tests, they don't need charters, they don't need vouchers, and they don't need merit pay.
Would that work in NYC?
Mayor Bloomberg doesn't think it's worth fooling with. That's why he refused to pay a dime of taxpayer funds toward the CFE lawsuit.
Here's what one applicant says:
"New York City is a very expensive place to live," the 40-year teaching vet said. "The prices are staggering. It would be OK if a teacher's salary was staggering. But that's not the case."
Congratulations to him. And good luck to the other 79,910 NYC teachers.
Update: LA is now also offering a $5,000 bonus for math and science teachers.
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