Metro

Reformers to Cuomo: Go all the way

A coalition of national education reformers is urging Gov. Cuomo to strengthen his proposal to require teacher evaluations by including a repeal of the “last in, first out” law, which requires teacher layoffs be done strictly by seniority rather than performance, The Post has learned.

They say his proposal fails to immediately address the issue, which is looming in the city.

The school advocates wrote a letter to Cuomo praising him for proposing legislation last week for a more rigorous statewide teacher-evaluation system, which they said “will help ensure every classroom in New York state has an effective teacher.”

“However,” the letter said, “while this legislation is critical, it does not go far enough or propose changes fast enough to address the immediate challenges facing our public education system.”

The criticism echoes Mayor Bloomberg’s claim that the Cuomo proposal won’t prevent the city from being forced to use LIFO to determine layoffs this budget cycle. Bloomberg insists he may have to lay off nearly 5,000 teachers this year.

The state Senate narrowly passed a LIFO repeal last week, but it was immediately sidelined by Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).

Among those signing the letter were former Washington, DC, schools chief Michelle Rhee, now CEO of StudentsFirst; former city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who heads Education Reform Now (and is also an executive at News Corp., which owns The Post); and The Education Trust CEO Kati Haycock.

For his part, Cuomo insists he wants to find a compromise on seniority-based layoffs but stressed that it’s a difficult issue.

carl.campanile@nypost.com