ALBANY – The city and state teacher unions blasted Gov. Cuomo Tuesday for referring to public schools as “one of the only remaining public monopolies.”
“In terms of schools and teachers, Gov. Cuomo has it backwards,” city teachers union President Michael Mulgrew wrote in a letter to the Daily News.
Mulgrew chastised Cuomo for talking about imposing more rigorous standards and evaluations for teachers and students “even while the charter schools he champions function without any effective oversight.”
Karen Magee, president of New York State United Teachers, called Cuomo’s comments Monday to the News’ editorial board “an unfortunate distraction” from addressing root problems like poverty.
Public education “is not a monopoly,” Magee said. “It is the centerpiece of our democracy and what makes our nation great.”
