As for the school cuts, much remains unclear, including exactly who will be laid off, and when such decisions will be made. (Bloomberg said yesterday that "there is no one drop dead date" for finalizing the layoffs, though he hoped to have a final decision well before the new school year starts in September.)
Schools chancellor Joel Klein yesterday reiterated his call to allow teachers to be laid off based on performance rather than seniority; the United Federation of Teachers has steadfastly opposed such a move.
And while individual teachers may face the ax based on their rookie status, whether school kids lose, for example, art classes or classroom aides will depend on their principals, who under Bloomberg have ultimate control over the spending, if not the size, of their school's budgets.
One certainty is larger class sizes. "Principals have already been told to prepare for class sizes of 32 in grades 1st through 5th, which is unprecedented," says Leonie Haimson of the parent advocacy group Class Size Matters, citing a DoE memo to principals that was printed in the April 26 Principal's Weekly.
