In a message dated 6/11/2003 8:18:15 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> > [MH] I'm confident that negotiated wage and benefit increases account for a > significant portion of the funds in question. The teachers union has become > a gravy train that basically provides a job for life with step and ladder > promotion based on years of education and years on the job, followed by a > good retirement, with little-to-no regard for on-the-job performance over > the years. The future of education under this management structure does not > look promising-- unless you're a teacher with 20-25 years in the system. The district is moving toward a merit pay system (pay for performance) which I believe will produce the kind of abuses which inspired teachers to organize and fight for alternatives to merit pay, such as pay differentials based on length of service and educational attainment, i.e., steps and ladders. Seniority rights, which come into play with layoffs and bidding for jobs, greatly reduces the power of management to dispense favors based on personal loyalties and other political considerations. The difference between a teacher with tenure and a teacher without tenure is that a teacher with tenure has the right to a hearing if fired for cause. Non-tenured teachers may not be fired without cause, but it is extremely easy to fire a non-tenured teacher for alleged poor performance supported by an unfair performance evaluation because the non-tenured teacher does not have the right to appeal the firing and to challenge the validity of the evidence used to support it. Tenured teachers may be and sometimes are fired for evidence of poor job performance and misconduct. The problem is that the administration doesn't go to the trouble of taking corrective and disciplinary actions in many cases because they have other fish to fry. I think that the big problem with the MPS management is the lack of accountability. The district is not making information about its budget accessible to the public, which is understandable if the district has something to hide. On paper the strategic goals of the school system are: 1) to improve student performance and 2) to close the academic performance gap. Whether and to what degree the district is making progress toward those goals should be the criteria by which the performance of the superintendent and the board should be evaluated. The same criteria should be used to evaluate the performance of principals and teachers. -Doug Mann http://educationright.tripod.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
