Cuomo's Approval/Disapproval On Education: 33%-54%

Jon Campbell at Gannett:

The state Board of Regents passed a revamped set of rules Wednesday for New York's new system of evaluating teachers, but promised to pen a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers outlining their many concerns.

The Regents, the state's education policymakers, voted 10-6 in favor of the new regulations, which included a new system for some teachers to appeal their ratings and the loosening of an observation requirement for small school districts.

The vote came after significant debate and some nose-holding among the Regents.

Several voted no in protest of the new system, which was required by a state law approved by Cuomo and the Legislature in March and has been derided by teachers unions. Other Regents warned of a possible loss of state money for local schools if the rules were voted down, noting the board was required by the law to approve a set of rules governing the process.

"Quite frankly, I have met with hundreds of people, and all I hear is the joy of teaching is being squeezed out of them as a result of this process," said Regent Judith Johnson, whose district stretches from Poughkeepsie to Westchester County. She voted against the proposal.

New Yorkers know who to blame - Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo's approval/disapproval on education stands at 33% - 54% in the latest Quinnipiac poll.

Cuomo's fallen to his lowest approval level in a Q poll.

You can bet his handling of education issues one of the primary reasons for his continued drop in approval.

He's well under water with Republicans and Independents on that issue and even Dems only approve of his handling of education by 44%-42%.

Nonetheless Cuomo continues to shove through his unpopular education reform agenda with what seems to be political impunity.

Clearly Cuomo must pay a higher political price than falling poll numbers to abandon his harmful education reform agenda.