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September 1, 2009
The Price of Teacher Hiring Reform
Marc Comtois
The Providence Teacher's union isn't happy with new hiring rules put in affect this summer, according to this WRNI report from Elisabeth Harrison (h/t). The nut of it is, of course, the removal of seniority as the major factor in determining who gets hired. As Harrison reports:
An order from the State Department of Education...required district leaders to fill all vacancies in the district with the best person for the job instead of the most senior teacher as the teacher contract stipulates.Apparently, around 100 Providence district teachers have been replaced by out-of-district teachers thanks to the new criterion-based hiring policy. Using this process, the schools got 96% of their first choices (100% of first two) while teachers got 86% of theirs. Steve Smith of the Providence Teachers union found the Superintendent's office uncommunicative and compared them to the Politburo. Helpful. Smith wanted to give some weight to experience, but, as mandated by the State, Providence had to get away from that method. And by the way, the non-working Providence district teachers continue to receive full pay and benefits while they sit in the reserve pool. Providence Superintendent Tom Brady explained that, basically, such is the price of transition.
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"the non-working Providence district teachers continue to receive full pay and benefits while they sit in the reserve pool."
So we have to pay double for some FTE's for trying to do what is best for the children? How long is that going to go on?
Posted by: Monique at September 1, 2009 7:15 AMThis sounds like RIs version of Detroit's ping pong rooms which are better known as the jobs bank.
Like Monique said, "How long is this going to go on?"
Wouldn't many love to have a profession which when they are considered no longer fit to work allows them to just do nothing and still get paid and accrue benefits?!!
Posted by: Frank at September 1, 2009 8:06 AM>This sounds like RIs version of Detroit's ping pong rooms which are better known as the jobs bank.
Or a variation of NYC's "rubber rooms."
Or the UAW's jobs bank. And we know how that worked out - the taxpayers just got to bailout the UAW via GM / Chrysler. Of course the NEA and AFT have been ahead of that curve - they've been getting taxpayer bailouts since Day 1.
Ultimately the teachers UNIONS motivation for wanting tenure instead of merit is that if teachers start getting treated based upon their individual merits, eventually they will start to question what value they're getting from having to pay union dues.
Follow the money - tenure is about keeping the dues-payers from questioning their relationship with the dues-masters.
Posted by: Tom W at September 1, 2009 8:21 AM...or NY's Rubber Room.
Posted by: Marc at September 1, 2009 10:21 AMThe jobs bank ...another "brilliant" idea brought to us by the Unions.
That being said, does anyone find it equally disturbing that Tom Brady explains it as the price of Transition?
When are people going to stop settling for these BS compromises with the Unions? Is there nothing worth fighting for?
We always take one step forward and two steps backwards. When are the Tom Bradys going to say enough is enough and take our education system back from the Unions and stop settling for itty-bitty incremental steps "forward"?
Posted by: George Elbow at September 1, 2009 7:54 PM