ALBANY – The head of the city teachers union is taking aim at Gov. Cuomo’s upcoming trip to Cuba, saying if the governor has time to visit the tiny Caribbean country next month he should be able to visit a classroom in New York.
“It’s interesting the governor can go to Cuba but he can’t get to a classroom in New York State,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told the Daily News. “I guess it’s just too far to travel to the public school classrooms.”
Mulgrew said while in Cuba Cuomo should check out a classroom there as well to contrast. He said it only makes sense for the governor to actually witness what is going on rather than “just talking to a bunch of businessmen who gave you a lot of money.”
“It’s not a gimmick,” he said “It’s something we’re very serious about. Go to a classroom in a highly impoverished area of New York City. See what they’re doing.”
Cuomo and the teacher unions have been at war over the governor’s proposed education-reform package that would revamp the teacher tenure and evaluation programs, make it easier to fire bad and lecherous instructors, and expand charter schools.
To further protest Cuomo’s plans, parents, students and teachers on Thursday will hold hands around their buildings “to protect their schools from the governor’s budget proposals,” Mulgrew said.
A Cuomo spokesman had no comment. Cuomo has visited a handful of schools since taking office in 2011, though it’s unclear how much time he spent in the actual classrooms.
