Public backs NY teachers in fight with Gov. Cuomo, poll finds
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In the ongoing war betweenGov. Andrew Cuomo and New York's teachers, the teachers are winning, according to a new poll out today from Siena College Research Institute.
Consider what voters said when asked about what hinders education in New York: Little parental involvement (37 percent), not enough money in schools (18 percent), the effects of poverty (17 percent), ineffective state oversight (12 percent), poor quality teachers (10 percent).
That's according to 810 registered voters across the state surveyed by Siena from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points.
Cuomo has proposed an extra $1 billion in school aid, but only if lawmakers agree to revamp the state's new teacher evaluation system and require more experience for teachers to qualify for tenure. The proposals, and Cuomo's failure to release district-by-district state money lists, have prompted a backlash from teacher unions and some school administrators.
In Siena's poll, 48 percent say they side with the teachers' unions, and 36 percent with the governor.
Still, voters do approve of at least one of Cuomo's proposals: 62 percent support Cuomo's proposal to make teachers eligible for tenure in five years, rather than three years as it is now.