N.Y.C. Bans Teacher Hires From Outside

With budget cuts looming, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein last week banned hiring educators from outside the school system, forcing principals to draw from the teacher-reserve pool and raising concerns about the effectiveness of ongoing staffing practices.

The reserve pool has 1,100 teachers who have remained on payrolls as substitutes and temporary replacements after their positions were eliminated because of downsizing or school closings. An independent report by the New Teacher Project estimates that the city paid $81 million in salary and benefits to teachers in the pool from 2005 to 2007.

The report also found that teachers in the pool are six times more likely than other teachers to...