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Giuliani's poor school marks

His record in New York City includes four chancellors, angry teachers and an inferior educational system.

The Nation

September 13, 2007|Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer

Among Bloomberg's more controversial reforms is a plan to pay students to take standardized tests and reward those who perform well with bonuses. "The mayor is a very strong believer in incentives," said Dennis Walcott, deputy mayor of New York. "If the end result is an increase in student performance, then that will be good."

Meanwhile, Giuliani has not given up his belief in vouchers. In his presidential campaign, Giuliani said parents should have the right to reject public education and get taxpayer funding for private schools.


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Teachers union president Randi Weingarten looks back at Giuliani's tenure and observes simply, "Labor had a really hard time with Rudy Giuliani. His rhetoric was inflammatory. He wanted to be provocative and was. I don't think it was helpful."

Even some former associates reach the same conclusion.

"It was a difficult political system to make work," said Viteritti, the former Giuliani advisor. "His style was combative, and in the end it worked against him."

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ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

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