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Union: Rochester Being Bullied by State Education Department

The head of the local teachers union says Albany is bullying the city school district by suspending millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top money.

But Dr. Adam Urbanski says he’s confident the issue will be resolved soon.

State Education Commissioner, John King, announced earlier this week that State Improvement Grants to 10 school districts - including Rochester - are being suspended.

King cited shortcomings in the application for the grant money - in particular the teacher-principal evaluation system - as the reason for the suspension.

Rochester Teacher's Association President Dr. Adam Urbanski says the decision is a form of bullying from the state, "It's money targeting the most needy schools in the most needy students in NY state and certainly in Rochester and I think it would be a major setback if those resources would be denied for such goofy reasons from the state education department."

The District will get a chance to defend its application in a hearing. Urbanski says he will meet with interim Superintendent, Dr. Bolgen Vargas, later this week to work on adjustments to the application.

He says the District has 30 days to reverse the State’s decision - something Urbanski says he’s confident will happen.