Local politicians yesterday cheered the release of the teacher-evaluation data, saying the Department of Education needs to be accountable for its massive budget.
“They are educating our children, and we need to know if we’re getting our money’s worth — the DOE’s annual budget is $23 billion!” said Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro.
“Shouldn’t we know if they’re doing a good thing or a bad thing? You can’t correct a problem if you don’t know what the problem is.”
DATABASE: PERFORMANCE GRADES FOR NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS (ORGANIZED BY SCHOOL)
Former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benjamin pointed out: “We wouldn’t go to a restaurant that gets a ‘D’ grade. If it’s good enough for the restaurants, it’s good enough for the parents.”
Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) said, “This is transparency, and transparency in government is always good.”
“But the facts of the transparency have to be accurate, and that’s what we need to learn now.
“The devil is always in the details.”
Molinaro said he had no patience for complainers.
“People are going to complain no matter what you do,” he said. “You can’t please everybody. If you have nothing to fear, you shouldn’t be afraid of being exposed. What are they afraid of?”