A Post editorial takes mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer to task for his economic plan for the city, which would include giving educators a substantial raise. UFT President Randi Weingarten acknowledged that the attack creates a tougher bargaining climate, but she cautioned that the mayor would be making a mistake if he tries to use the catastrophe to lowball teachers, cops and firefighters. On a related note, editorials in Saturday's Post and today's Daily News fault Chancellor Harold Levy for citing the attack in seeking federal funds for the school system in general and student grief counseling in particular. They also take him to task for raising the possibility that students' psychological trauma might be reflected in lower academic performance, saying the last thing students need is an excuse for failure . Randi says in Sunday's Post that the disaster has indeed added to the school system's already big problems.
Kids still have to take the Regents exams.
Fourth-grade tests aren't being postponed. And now we have new issues. We have to make kids feel safe and secure. The fear factor is making itself felt. The chancellor said that 12 of the 700 foreign teachers recruited recently have quit since September 11.