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Bloomberg: Automatic Tenure Hurts Children

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says tying teacher tenure to classroom performance is necessary to weed out instructors who are not doing a good job.

Bloomberg said Tuesday that most public school teachers do a great job. He said those who don't "have to get another career.''

Bloomberg spoke on NBC's "Today'' show, a day after announcing a series of educational initiatives.

He said he wasn't blaming the teachers' union or the city for not being more aggressive in the past in denying automatic tenure. But he said the school system has to be run for the children, not for the people who work in it.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, in a separate interview on "Today,'' said she agreed with the mayor.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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