Florida Gov. Charlie Crist handed teacher unions across the country a gift this month when he vetoed perhaps the most transformative school reform bill any state has passed in a decade.
But the short-term political ambitions of a fading Senate candidate should not derail the vital work of overhauling how teachers are hired paid evaluated and if necessary fired in this country.
The teacher unions will howl but their interests do not always coincide with those of taxpayers parents and students. In this case theyre in diametric opposition.
Ending lifetime tenure for new teachers overhauling certification rules paying excellent teachers higher wages and setting aside millions of dollars to pay instructors with skills in high demand are just the sort of changes that would constitute lasting education reform.
The bill Crist vetoed would have done all of those things and he had said hed sign it. But Crist who is behind in the polls in the race for the Republican nomination for the Senate (but who may try to revive his chances by running as an independent) decided to placate powerful opponents of reform in hopes of blunting their opposition.
Crists veto has national implications. Several other states and major urban school districts including New York City Detroit Colorado and Tennessee are debating reform proposals resembling Floridas and teacher unions are fighting back. read on... http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=531646
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist handed teacher unions across the country a gift this month when he vetoed perhaps the most transformative school reform bill any state has passed in a decade.
But the short-term political ambitions of a fading Senate candidate should not derail the vital work of overhauling how teachers are hired paid evaluated and if necessary fired in this country.
The teacher unions will howl but their interests do not always coincide with those of taxpayers parents and students. In this case theyre in diametric opposition.
Ending lifetime tenure for new teachers overhauling certification rules paying excellent teachers higher wages and setting aside millions of dollars to pay instructors with skills in high demand are just the sort of changes that would constitute lasting education reform.
The bill Crist vetoed would have done all of those things and he had said hed sign it. But Crist who is behind in the polls in the race for the Republican nomination for the Senate (but who may try to revive his chances by running as an independent) decided to placate powerful opponents of reform in hopes of blunting their opposition.
Crists veto has national implications. Several other states and major urban school districts including New York City Detroit Colorado and Tennessee are debating reform proposals resembling Floridas and teacher unions are fighting back. read on... http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=531646
