ALBANY (AP) -- A new poll shows New Yorkers overwhelmingly support New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's push to base teacher layoffs on performance rather than the current system of seniority.
The Quinnipiac University poll finds 85 percent of voters want to spare the best teachers, regardless of how long they've been on the job.
Even 75 percent of households with union members support performance-based criteria if the projected thousands of layoffs are ordered statewide.
But Michael Mulgrew of the United Federation of Teachers says that although seniority-based layoffs are flawed, it's better than giving the power to politicians.
The poll questioned 1,457 registered voters from last Tuesday to Monday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
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