Bloomberg Makes Student Loan Offer To New Teachers In State Of The City Address

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) Theres a new battle underway to save New York Citys failing schools.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has threatened to fire up to half of the teachers at struggling institutions in all five boroughs, reports CBS 2s Marcia Kramer.

The best teachers stay. The least effective go, Bloomberg said.

Web Extra: Full Transcript Of Bloombergs Prepared State Of The City Remarks (pdf)

It was a battle cry Bloomberg vowing to sidestep a labor dispute and fix 33 failing schools by getting rid of up to half the teachers. And he said he can do it under a turn-around provision in the exisiting contract with the teachers union.

Great teachers make an enormous difference and ineffective teachers are hurting our students futures we cannot allow, Bloomberg said.

WCBS 880s Rich Lamb On The Story

Sources told Kramer on Thursday that each school will be able to develop its own criteria for assessing teachers and for getting rid of them.

United Federation of Teacher President Michael Mulgrew called the mayors proposal teacher bashing.

I dont understand. What hes doing is basically a fantasy world, Mulgrew said. He can say whatever he wants to say in his speech. Im telling you right now thats not whats in the best interest of those children or those schools.

The mayor said he needs to get rid of the teachers in order to salvage some $ 60 million in school improvement grants for the failing schools.

We have just got to say are we here for the teachers or are we here for the students? And I know what side Im on, Bloomberg said.

1010 WINS Glenn Schuck reports

In his annual state of the city speech the mayor offered other bold ideas for improving the quality of teachers. For instance, teachers rated highly effective two years in a row will get a $ 20,000 bonus. Product Packaging Company . And to recurit good teachers he offered to help pay off the student loans of those who graduate in the top 10-percent of their class.

Come teach in our schools and if you commit to stay well pay off up to $ 25,000 of your student loans, Bloomberg said.

The mayor said hes also going to help high school students apply for federal financial aid in order to go to college.

The mayor also said he would support a proposal from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to raise the state minimum wage from $ 7.25 an hour to $ 8.

What do you make of the mayors offer? Sound Off below

• President Obama Highlights Student Loan “Know Before You Owe” Efforts in …

  January 4, 2012 | 3:31 PM By Molly Bloom Kevin Niedermier / WKSU A crowd of about 1,300 awaited President Barack Obama in the Shaker Heights ...

• College students trapped with big debt and few jobs after attending expensive …

  After getting her G.E.D. at Lawson State Community College in Bessemer, Ranisha Richardson of Birmingham set her goals a little higher.Encouraged by TV ads touting ...

• Grants for Single Moms – Opportunities Available

  Parenthood is a difficult enough responsibility for two adults to accomplish; so you can just imagine how that difficulty triples when you are trying to ...

• Analysis: Student loan agency still a cash target

  The idea was creative and controversial: Missouri could take money from its student loan authority to help finance the governor's agenda for higher education.When the ...

• Legislature weighs ways to lower student loan costs

  BOSTON With nearly two-thirds of college students in Massachusetts carrying an average debt of $ 25,541, the commonwealth faces the prospect of even more borrowing ...