Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said yesterday he wants to significantly boost teacher salaries with the expected windfall from the landmark state school-aid court ruling.
“We could do hundreds of things – starting with paying teachers more money,” Levy said during a conference on “Closing the Gap in Student Performance” at the City University Graduate Center.
The chancellor said it’s unconscionable that teachers in “crummy” Yonkers get paid 24 percent more than those in the Big Apple.
“Education starts with the quality of teachers in front of the room,” he said.
Gov. Pataki was mum on whether he would appeal Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse’s decision.
“We’re going to have to wait until the lawyers give me an analysis. They haven’t had a chance to do that yet,” Pataki said during a ceremony honoring black World War II Army Air Corps pilots in Farmingdale, L.I.
But the governor said he would overhaul the state education-aid formula when he releases his spending plan Tuesday – as he promised in his State of the State address last week.
Mayor Giuliani said he was opposed to an appeal.
At a City Hall press conference, Robert Jackson – the former Manhattan school-board president who filed the original lawsuit – joined Public Advocate Mark Green and Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer to urge the state to accept the decision.
But upstate Republican lawmakers – fearful of losing aid for their districts – want Pataki to appeal.
“This shouldn’t be decided by a regional court. This should be decided by the state Court of Appeals because it involves everyone across the state,” said upstate GOP Sen. Randy Kuhl.
As for boosting teacher salaries, the mayor – as well as state lawmakers – cautioned Levy not to bank on getting hundreds of millions of additional dollars that may not materialize.
“We shouldn’t spend money we don’t have yet,” Giuliani said.
The mayor also warned Albany he would fight any scheme that would comply with the court ruling by slashing funding for other city services.
“It would not be unusual for Albany . . . Sometimes, that’s happened,” he said.
State Board of Regents Chancellor Carl Hayden said any increase in education aid to the city would not come at the expense of wealthier school districts because “Robin Hood schemes have not worked anywhere.”
Giuliani – who has been feuding with the teachers union over a new contract – said teacher salaries should be increased, but only if they agree to be “more productive” by working a longer school day. He complained city teachers have the shortest workday in the country.
But like Levy, United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said the bombshell court decision affects contract negotiations.
Weingarten said it was “common sense” to use additional state dollars to increase salaries to address a shortage of qualified teachers and added, “The city has a responsibility here, too.”