New York City to fire 4,666 teachers [February 17 2011]

Despite skyrocketing tax revenues, the city still needs to ax 4,666 teachers to balance the books, officials said.  A $2 billion increase in expected tax revenue since November cannot completely make up for state cuts - including $1 billion from city schools - Mayor Bloomberg is expected to say in his budget address today. As part of the public negotiations over the budget, city officials are continuing to push Albany to increase funding for education - and to change state law on layoffs that requires cutting the most inexperienced teachers first.

"The only thing worse than laying off teachers would be laying off the wrong teachers," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. Citing the tax revenues, teachers union president Michael Mulgrew dismissed the mayors call for layoffs as "completely bogus." "He continues, we feel, to use this as a political game, rather than making sure hes protecting the schools and children of New York City," he said. The Education Department will be the only agency to get more city money next year than this year under Bloombergs plan, sources said. Bloomberg initially predicted a cataclysmic layoff of 21,000 teachers, roughly a quarter of the teaching force.