In today's New York Post, an article was written on how the DOE has wasted over a billion dollars since 2005 to get ATRs to leave the system but for the most part, failed to do so. The article was light on facts and didn't really discuss-the ATR issue in detail. However, the article reflected the DOE's frustration of paying hundred of millions of dollars annually in the last eight years to keep the ATR pool rather then putting them back into the classroom where they belong. The NY Post article states that the DOE's ATR buyout, that ends tomorrow, is expected to be an utter failure with few ATRs actually taking the inadequate buyout.
Interestingly, the DOE told the New York Post that while all vacancies posted after October 15th must be filled by an ATR, the Principal has the right to remove the ATR from the position after only one day for no reason whatsoever. Moreover, the DOE apparently told the New York Post that "ALL TEACHERS WHO WENT THROUGH THEIR 3020-a PROCESS AND WON HAVE A PROBLEM CODE ON THEIR FILE! That's right the ATRs have their own"Scarlet Letter"! That means that principals who look at an ATR's file will see the "red flag"on the file and will not offer the vacancy to the teacher no matter how qualified the teacher is.
Unfortunately, the article didn't explain the "fair student funding" that discourages principals from hiring teachers due to their high salaries or that the four"job fairs" this summer excluded invitations to ATRs to participate in. While James Eterno was quoted, it consisted of a two sentence statement that said the DOE's policies will not eliminate the ATR pool and the ATRs need to be placed. Otherwise, the article was slanted to the DOE's position.
Finally, the ideological slant of the New York Post was obvious in this article as they called the ATRs "outcasts".