Today’s New York Times has an article about New York City paying teachers not to teach, at a cost to taxpayers of $200 million per year. Note that this is separate from the “rubber room” where teachers who’ve been accused of wrongdoing or incompetence sit, often for years, costing taxpayers additional millions of dollars (story; Daily News story estimating cost at $65 million/year; full text of an August 31, 2009 New Yorker magazine article with detailed explanations of the city’s attempt to remove incompetent teachers).