Kathy Hochul blasted for launching 'tone deaf' big furry mascot to promote school cell phone ban

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is refusing to disclose what it is costing New Yorkers to fund the fuzzy "Frankie Focus" mascot. The "Sesame Street'"-like character has been unveiled in the Empire State as part of an effort to promote cellphone bans in public schools.

Educators in New York, however, disagree with the use of the fuzzy mascot, calling it "tone-deaf." Queens high school teacher Moshe Spern told the New York Post, “It’s completely tone-deaf. We all agree that the cellphone ban would be great for students and learning. But having a silly cartoon character be the focus of the promotion loses the target audience: middle school and high school students."

The veteran teacher added, “Having a cartoon character thrown in their face is not going to make them happy. It insults their intelligence.” High school parents seemed to agree as well. Yiatin Chu told the outlet, “The use of a mascot doesn’t appeal to parents and certainly not high school students. It doesn’t appeal to me."

“I’m not sure the mascot helps her cause," the parent added, referencing Hochul. Another supporter of the ban, but not the mascot, added, "I don’t know any 13- to 18-year-old who could be convinced with a mascot like that.”

Last week, "Frankie Focus" debuted at a Brooklyn Middle School. Hochul's office on Sunday, however, would not disclose how much the mascot costs. Without getting specific, the governor’s office said that the mascot is part of a $13.5 million effort that has pushed schools to comply with the phone ban from the starting bell to the end of the day. $4 million of that went to the New York City Department of Education.

Hochul has defended the use of the mascot, who is being paid with public funding. A spokesman for the governor's office told reporters, “Frankie just kind of showed up at our office last week and did this perfect double backflip, which was pretty wild."

“But after that, he made two things clear: He’s not affiliated with any companies or brands, and he really, really doesn’t like smartphone distractions at school," the spokesman added. The representative for the New York governor said that the mascot is helping to "spread the word" about getting students to pay attention in class.

The spokesman added, “As the Governor’s always said, our kids succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling — and that’s why we’ll keep working to ensure distraction-free learning delivers the best results for New York schools."