Cuomo's financial and political support for reform initiatives

Governor Cuomo and Education Policy

Governor Cuomo strongly supports the establishment of a statewide teacher evaluation system. New York is following the robust example of states like Kentucky that have put teacher evaluation systems in place, and will soon to add principle evaluation systems. Borrowing phraseology from the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Cuomo recently asserted that public schools are failing so badly that "the great equalizer that was supposed to be the public education system can now be the great discriminator." Cuomo is putting money where his mouth is since the evaluation system is the key to school districts being able to access an increase in state education aid that has been scheduled. Cuomo has been pressuring the teachers' union and schools in New York City to implement the new standards approved by the State Legislature, including the use of an instructional framework that stipulates criteria for teacher evaluations.

Cuomo is all for the tougher sanctions that struggling teachers will face. The carrot on the stick is $700 million that comes from the state's grant for the federal Race to the Top program. Those monies are contingent upon the establishment of the teacher evaluation system. Cuomo's backroom plan is to order the State Education Department and the statewide teachers' union to settle an ongoing legal dispute over teacher evaluations, and to agree to the standards that are integral to the instructional framework (rubric) and the teacher evaluation system overall. Should that negotiation fail, Cuomo can attempt to impose the evaluation system as part of the state budget.

Yet, Cuomo stated that he believes a focus on funding has warped the policy decisions, and has gone on the record as saying:

"They've been having the same debate in this building for 20 years, when it comes to public education…It's a debating-society-meets-lobbying-society. Because the education discussion particularly in this building hasn't been about the kids, it's not about the children -- it's about the money, and it's about the funding stream. ... And the priorities of the financial interests, in my opinion, have sometimes trumped the interests of the children. So that has to be broken." (Kaplan, 2012)

Money is part of the focus on Cuomo's position on special education funding for private schools. Cuomo on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would require religion and other family beliefs to be considered when approving taxpayer-funded tuition for special-education students at private schools. Pushed by Jewish and Catholic organizations, the measure put forth the idea that "home environment and family background" should be part of the decision making for school placement. The bill would also have streamlined tuition reimbursements to parents through a voucher-like system. Part of Cuomo's concern was directed at the possibility that the bill would create "a cottage industry of private schools catering to families of varying religions, lifestyles and backgrounds -- all paid for with government funds" (Fleisher, 2012).