Education Roundtable: John Flanagan

Q: Heading into the final weeks of the budget negotiations, what education priorities will you push for the most?

JF: In a funding capacity, the Gap Elimination Adjustment remains our No. 1 priority without question, and in that context making sure we have equitable distribution of whatever we do across the state. In light of the governor’s 30-day amendments in which he took out the $377 million that was going to be available for education, we would certainly want restoration of that. School districts should be getting their expense-based aid, and we’re going to have a lot of discussions about teaching. Also issues like libraries, which are so critical in so many ways, and I would love to be able to have discussions about 853 schools, Special Acts schools, special education services and programs for preschool children with handicapping conditions and schools for deaf, blind and severely disabled, because they are all critical to our education process. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of more policy issues, not only in the month of March but thereafter.

Q: Moving forward with the Common Core standards, what do you think is the best way to ensure New York students are college- and career-ready?

JF: In terms of college- and career-ready, it’s very important to have quality people sitting at the table figuring things out, making sure that our educational professionals have all the tools they need—proper curriculum, that they get it at the right time, that they have a chance to properly prepare to then, in turn, teach our children. Looking to the business community is important, too. There are a lot of people who aren’t necessarily going to go to college and how we prepare them and provide the skills for the outside world. Listening to the manufacturing community, the business community and the chambers of commerce can also be very helpful. This is an area that the state Department of Education and the state Board of Regents deserve credit. They have listened very intensively to people in the field on alternative pathways to graduation and with a primary focus on career and technical education. I’m glad you mention that because there is a piece that would provide additional aid that will enhance all those opportunities. There hasn’t been a raise in that area in 22 years, so a lot of people, myself included, think it’s time to raise that cap, which will incentivize districts to send their children to these programs and give them the proper fit where it may work.

Q: Should there be any reform to the teacher evaluation system in New York? If so, what reform should there be? If not, why?

JF: I know very clearly that we’re going to have some extraordinarily intense discussions on this and I don’t think anyone should shy away from them. The challenge we have now is how to filter through what the governor has proposed, because there is a lot of linkage between and amongst all of these proposals, regardless of whether or not it’s in the budget. In terms of teacher quality, we are in the process of debating all these issues or discussing all these issues in our conference and I’m sure we’ll come out with a unified position. But the laser-like focus is, how do we get the best teachers in front of the classroom? And a lot of that will be how do we properly prepare them as we move along?

Q: Is there anything else education-related on your agenda?

JF: I’m certainly disappointed that we don’t have school aid runs, because that allows for better and proper planning at the local level. If we properly fund education, that is the single most important starting point. If we have a great teacher in front of the classroom, everything else is secondary. Give me a great teacher as opposed to bricks and mortar and I think we’re in a good spot. And lastly, I believe we not only can but should pass the budget on time. That’s the law, that’s our obligation and there’s no legitimate reason, in my opinion, why we can’t do that by April 1.