FAIRPORT, N.Y. -- Concerned educators from 40 different local districts spoke out Thursday night in Fairport about Governor Andrew Cuomo's controversial education agenda, which he unveiled in Jan. during his State of the State address.
"He's holding our budget hostage, so we have no state aid funds," said William Cala, superintendent of Fairport schools. "We don't know what our state aid is going to be and he's threatening to not give us state aid and hold as it was last year unless he approves our agenda."
"We really have a problem with the use of student tests scores in the way that he's trying to push the use of student test scores," said Scott Steinberg, West Irondequoit Teachers Association president. "It's looking at one angle without really looking at the bigger problem and it's unfairly penalizing teachers."
Cuomo proposed tougher teacher evaluations that would be tied closely to student testing, but teacher unions and advocates said they've had enough and hope this rally, along with others across the state, are a wake up call for the governor.
John Baynes, an English teacher at Fairport, said the most alarming part of Cuomo's education plan is the threat of local districts losing control.
"The state of New York and the governor are trying to take away or local school board, our local principals and parents ability to control our community," said Baynes.
As an English teacher in Penfield, Mary Bostwick said the governor has lost sight of what really matters.
"Evaluations are secondary. It's the cuts that he want that will hurt our kids," Bostwick said. "It's the privatization of public schools that will hurt our kids."
The rally was followed by a town hall-style forum inside the Minerva DeLand school. Panelists heard from parents and students, and listening to their concerns was state Senator Rich Funke, one of 10 panelists at the forum.
"There's no question about it. He is holding the budget hostage for these school districts," said Sen. Funke, R-Perinton. "They need to make their plans and to hold this up over their reform agenda, I don't think it's fair.
"We are here only for the kids," Bostwick said. "They are the most important people in this whole battle and Governor Cuomo is freezing kids out."
Governor Cuomo responded to the teacher's protests Thursday, and stated, in part:
"You get evaluated in your job; I get evaluated in my job. Teachers haven't been evaluated in their jobs the way that they did before, but we want to design a fair evaluation system that is fair to the teacher and is fair to the student."