Let's go back to NYC in 1968.
The keyword then was "community control".
The results were the destruction of a great public education system(which I still appreciate having been educated in)and the collateral exacerbation of ethnic tensions which is always a negative for society.
The collapse of the public school education standards eventually resulted in the necessity for remedial reading classes in the various colleges of the City University of NY(think about that),and the irresponsible expansion of that university system which caused it to lose the ability to offer tuition free college educations to city residents.Free college education?Don't be shocked,because NYC has had a city income tax for generations.
The university was expanded rapidly in the 70's under the theory that EVERYONE was entitled to a college education.
When I entered the university system in 1963,I had to have a certain combination of SAT scores and grades.
I didn't make it into my first choice,Brooklyn College,and wound up travelling between Brooklyn and the Bronx every day.About 1 1/2 hours by subway each way.I returned to school after serving in the military and eventually got my BS degree(okay,here come the jokes)during which time I noticed students who were barely coherent or literate.
The public schools had failed them miserably.
I know this is unscientific,but it is just what I observed.

This change is long over due. I'm amazed by how the union can claim to be motivated by what is best for students, then support a practice which pulls good teachers out of schools because they lack seniority. It seems inconsistent to me.

"...will be filled based on whether the applicants have the skills needed to serve students in those particular schools."

Welcome to the world that everyone else lives in.

I wish the state would levy this requirement on all school districts, since I think bumping is the norm in Rhode Island. I know it still exists in the local district

Actually david, I think most districts have done away with bumping. But seniority bidding still exists in most contracts. It's good to see qualifications, beyond just certification, will be in play. Good news for the kids.

The Department of Ed. should do more to return decision-making power to the school level, including some of its own.

This concept could only be deemed novel and objectonable by union pigs. To all others, it is merely common sense.

I think the qualification that they are talking about will be Spanish or Cambodian language skills!

Terms like
Union Pigs
Poverty Pimps
by Mike Cappelli and now banned Mike
from Anchor Rising
Explain why Joe Trillo,had 12 GOP Reps
in the the House,and now has 6
KEEP CALLING PEOPLE PIGS,AND IN 2010
TRILLO AND WATSON WILL BE THE LAST 2 DEAD MEN STANDING
what did Monique say about "name calling" last week ?
Dick Armey called Barney Frank ........
Barney Fag
Real Funny Right-Wingnuts

So "Mike not Cappelli"; what is your term for people who are work-averse and whose only growing ambition is for the hand that feeds them to return to the trough with more and more for them to devour.

I suppose you don't like the terms "pirate" and "terrorist" either.

Long time lurker so it's my first post.

The term "bumping" seems to be used to identify any type of movement. I've been a teacher in RI for about 14 years so maybe I can clarify the various ways teachers "float" from one position to another.

Some contracts allow employees to choose ANY position they would like…I believe yearly. Most districts no longer have this for good reasons. Some allow this for positions like bus monitors and teacher aids. Many, if not all districts, allow bumping if teachers are displaced. Our district requires a displaced teacher to take the least senior position which they are certified...notice I wrote certified not qualified. In the past one could bump anyone with less seniority which created chaos because of the domino effect. I THINK Providence still has this.

The last type of movement takes place at a job fair or pool. This is where the real insanity begins. Teachers bid on positions in order of seniority. Most movement is from 5th grade to 3rd grade to 1st grade, teachers clapping when someone gets that position they've "worked" so hard to get. (I wonder if they do this at Toyota.) The real fun begins when a 25-year veteran teaching 3rd grade decides he wants a math position at the secondary level. He/she can take the job over a teacher with less seniority, even if that teacher with less seniority actually teaches secondary math. Forget degrees and credits. They mean nothing.

Most taxpayers get upset with high teacher salaries but never see the nuts and bolts of who gets paid what. The lack of a free market in education allows a $75000 per year math teacher (rare certification and hard to find.) to go to the job fair and bid into a physical education position and still make the same $75000. Gym teachers are a dime a dozen so their pay should reflect this. But the taxpayers end up shelling out $75000 for a position that’s worth $15000. Foreign languages, math and the advanced sciences really suffer because a district cannot offer to pay perspective new teachers what they are worth. Hence nobody goes into those areas of study. Pay a social studies teacher less because they are worth less. Pay that perspective chemistry or math teachers what they are worth…with the money you’ve taken from the art teachers.

Marc Comtois believes the Mayoral Academy is encouraging?! Stop drinking the cool-aid! As a resident of Cumberland, and by the way in case the anti-union rhetoric starts, I am not, nor are members of my family, union members and I am as outraged about union benefits as anyone. However, Mayor McKee has turned his back on public education in Cumberland Schools which my children attend, in favor of his power grab Mayoral Academy. While seeking $700,000 of taxpayers money to fund a basically private institute that will serve only a small percentage of children, he purposes cutting $600,000 in the town funding for the legitimate Cumberland public school system. So, before everyone jumps on the liberal express, get your facts straight!

Marc Comtois believes the Mayoral Academy is encouraging?! Stop drinking the cool-aid! As a resident of Cumberland, and by the way in case the anti-union rhetoric starts, I am not, nor are members of my family, union members and I am as outraged about union benefits as anyone. However, Mayor McKee has turned his back on public education in Cumberland Schools which my children attend, in favor of his power grab Mayoral Academy. While seeking $700,000 of taxpayers money to fund a basically private institute that will serve only a small percentage of children, he purposes cutting $600,000 in the town funding for the legitimate Cumberland public school system. So, before everyone jumps on the liberal express, get your facts straight!

Kramer:

Absolutely! The clamor against teacher remuneration would be significantly eased were taxpayers confident that their money actually goes toward the most effective education possible. Schools aren't run as if they have to operate efficiently toward a goal.