Teachers Furious Over Bloomberg's Proposed Budget
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – New York City teachers will meet on Monday to protest Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget that would call for more than 6,000 teacher cuts.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports
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In his $67 billion budget plan, teachers would bare the burden, and Bloomberg has said that it's not his fault. Instead, he said it's the combined cuts from the federal and state governments that forced him to his budget.
A fired-up Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, addressed a packed room of union members in Manhattan.
"Enough is enough," Mulgrew said. "This city is for all of us, not just a very few."
Frustration is growing among teachers who fear the massive layoffs, and the union vowed to fight for teachers' jobs, reports CBS 2's Kristin Thorne.
"The kids will have double problems—larger class sizes—and not have any of their service," one special needs teacher from Brooklyn said. "The testing scores will continue to go down."
Charlie Lansing said if children do not get a proper education, then they will turn to a life of crime.
"Because they have no education, they will go out robbing, stealing, selling drugs. Everything," Lansing said.
Mayor Bloomberg said it's all about the numbers. According to the mayor, the state budget reduced education spending next year by $1.2 billion, while the city also lost $850 million in federal stimulus money that's used to support teachers' salaries.
"If the state was spending the same amount of money on education, we would not be talking about layoffs – but, sadly, that's not the case," the mayor said.
Bloomberg's budget could also force the closure of 20 fire companies.
