ALBANY, N.Y. December 10, 2014 – New York State United Teachers released the following statement today on news that state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. is resigning to take a senior position at the U.S. Department of Education.

“NYSUT has disagreed sharply and publicly with the commissioner on many issues. The disconnect between the commissioner’s vision and what parents, educators and students want for their public education system became so great, NYSUT voted ‘no confidence’ in Commissioner King last spring and called for his resignation. We hope he has learned from his stormy tenure in New York state and look forward to working collaboratively and productively with the Regents to improve public education going forward.

“We call on the Regents, in appointing the next education commissioner to, first and foremost, select a passionate advocate for what children and public schools need. The next commissioner must be a heralded educator who respects parents, teachers and students. New York needs an education commissioner who listens carefully; is willing to learn from others and compromise; and who understands that true collaboration among stakeholders will make New York’s already strong public education system even stronger. Without that, all of our sincere efforts to narrow the achievement gap and ensure that all students are ready to contribute to our economy going forward will be in vain.”

New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.