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Menino calls for major changes in teacher contract
By adamg on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 6:42pm
Tom Menino used a speech before business leaders this morning to call for a new teacher contract that would let the city tie teacher pay to student performance, extend the school day and give principals more flexibility in assigning teachers. Also, the city needs to finally re-district its elementary-school assignment zones so it can spend more on education and less on busing, he said, adding he fully supports a proposal to cut costs by shutting and merging a number of schools. The School Committee votes on that tomorrow night.
Mayor's speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Marjorie Arons-Barron has more on what she called one of the best speeches of his political career.
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Comments
Long Overdue
" In the process, he said things that have needed to be said for a long time"
This was all perfectly foreseeable 5 years ago. As the author points out at the bottom of the article good indication that the mayor may not be around to run in 2013.
One thing that would be interesting is for someone to look at that $63 million shortfall. Assuming even flat revenues that means that the school budget will be going up about 7.5%. How is it remotely possible that the budget is going up that much in such difficult times? I smell some serious spin coming - oh we have no money, oh we need new taxes.
Interesting to note that through all of this the city's operating budget has never decreased and they actually spent tens of millions in incremental costs through the "external funds" budgets and stimulus money.
What would happen if they
What would happen if they tied the cops pay to the crime rate in their precinct? Would make things interesting in Mattapan I bet. The argument that we should blame the public employee for the public is painful, are these teachers empowered to go into their students homes and straighten up their parents? Buy them healthy food? Keep gangs out of their neighbor? Hand out birth control?
Just like everyone else
For almost every job, one can point to a laundry list of external factors that hinder one's performance - the economy, the weather, the idiot who works next to you, whatever. You still need to deliver results.
There are teachers out there who succeed despite broken homes, obese children, street warfare and teenage pregnancy. Such teachers should be rewarded, and others should be given (tangible) incentives to strive to succeed in a similar way.
What I'd say
Mayor, you first.
Let me know when the mayor's pay is tied directly to how well he budgets and pushes his agenda through for managing the city and I'll let you know when teachers should get paid for teaching to an arbitrary test score. Mr. Mayor, I'll even create a test score for you to know how well you're doing...but I don't know how to quantify "improved the budget" or "gave a good speech", so you're just going to have to live with the arbitrary nature of my scoring. Sound good? Great, then let's hear what you have to say about teacher pay being linked to performance.
The MCAS tests have already completely obliterated the requirement to teach much-needed critical thinking skills to today's students. Let's let them destroy the morale of our teachers and turn their entire curriculum into teaching from test prep books in order to get paid at all...or not get fired at worst.
Hurrah.
I'll echo your thoughts
Because that was well said.