GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Tensions between the city and teachers over their t0-the-wire teacher evaluation talks bubbled over in 140 characters early this morning, sending both sides into their respective corners for most of the day.

But state education officials said the city Department of Education and the UFT had been laying the groundwork for a successful submission before the end of the day on Thursday, the deadline for districts to adopt new evaluations or lose state funding.

After a negotiations-packed weekend in which both city and union officials acknowledged that progress had been made, talks went late into the night on Monday at the union’s headquarters. But a little after 1:30 a.m., Leo Casey, a former vice president for the union who has stayed on to finish the evaluations deal, suggested in a Twitter message that negotiations had fizzled out.

“At UFT. Negotiating team prepared to do round the clock negotiating, with full team present,” Casey wrote. “But DOE leaves.” (more…)

When revisions to the state’s teacher evaluation law came before the State Senate late Wednesday night, not a single senator cast a “no” vote.

That’s because nearly all of the Senate Democrats had walked out of the Senate chambers to protest a controversial redistricting deal. While they were out, Senate Republicans made quick work of bills that had already been approved by the Assembly. That included the teacher and principal evaluation bill.

The situation meant that the evaluations bill garnered just 36 “yes” votes. Just four of those votes came from senators who represent the city. Two were from the city’s two Republican state senators and two were from two Democrats who are part of an independent caucus.

In the Assembly, the bill passed 91 to 49 and found only scarce opposition from city representatives. About half of the Assembly members from outside of New York City voted against the bill, but just six of the city’s 64 Assembly representatives voted against the bill. (more…)