Mayor's School 'Reforms' Raise Unions' Hackles; Faces Tenure Battle; CSA Wants Details Of 'Empowerment'

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

City unions' reactions ranged from lukewarm to furious last week as they sorted through Mayor Bloomberg's proposals in his Jan. 17 State of the City address to revamp the education system and spend less on pensions.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Questions Mayor's math.

The Mayor's plan to make Teacher tenure more difficult to obtain set off a firestorm within the United Federation of Teachers. Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein joined the fray, detailing how he would turn Principals into the "CEOs" of their schools and dismantle the regional bureaucracy the Mayor set up less than four years ago.

'Equitable' But Harmful?

Some educators were also dubious about a new school funding proposal, billed as more equitable, which they feared would encourage schools to get rid of their most-senior and most-expensive Teachers. And they noted that their number one priority, reducing class size, went unmentioned in the hail of policy shifts.

"We intend to make tenure a well-deserved honor, not a routine right," said Mr. Klein in a policy speech to business and community leaders the day after the Mayor's address. "Today tenure is nearly automatic."

The UFT's response grew in ferocity as details of the plan trickled out.

"Teachers don't get automatic tenure. Never did. Never will," said UFT President Randi Weingarten. "The Chancellor is now going after the very same people he recruited to the system."

The Chief-Leader/Eric Weiss PUTTING THE DRAMA BACK INTO TENURE: Following up on the Mayor's claim that Teacher tenure had been given too easily, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein vowed to make it 'a well-deserved honor, not a routine right.' United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten questioned their assumption, arguing that 40 percent of new Teachers are denied tenure by the fact that they leave the system before they would qualify.

The city says the fact that almost 99 percent of Teachers receive tenure shows that the process needs to be more rigorous. The Chancellor proposed including students' standardized test scores and periodic student assessments in evaluations of Teachers' fitness for tenure.

Inflating Teacher Grades

 

Mr. Klein also said that "too often, our Principals don't bother giving an honest rating because, in the past, it hasn't led anywhere." He promised more resources and support to struggling Teachers while also providing "school leaders with additional supports when necessary to remove poor performing Teachers."

Ms. Weingarten said the real issue is how to retain good Teachers, since between 35 and 40 percent of them leave the system within the first three years. "That means that approximately 60 percent of new Teachers get tenure," she said.

Taking 'Second Bite?'

The union also noted that the current tenure process requires a Principal to evaluate a Teacher six times a year for the first three years. And the union was very cool to the idea of including test scores as part of the evaluation process.

"We are against that. Some of these proposals are almost like taking a second bite at negotiations," said Carmen Alvarez, a UFT vice president.

The city's new funding formula could also have an impact on Teachers. The plan would base how much money a school gets solely on the number of students in the school. City officials said the change would level the playing field between schools in wealthy and low-income neighborhoods and root out the politics and corruption that has allowed favored schools to get more money. The per-student amount would be weighted, taking into account students with special needs.

Destabilize Staffs?

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow KEYS TO THE CITY: Although his plans for the school system and employee pensions stirred criticism from the municipal unions, Mayor Bloomberg otherwise got a rousing reception from an audience that included (in front row behind him) the construction worker who jumped onto the subway tracks to rescue a man who had fallen from an oncoming train, and a cop and two Sanitation Workers who acted heroically in separate incidents.

But some education advocates say while they favor funding equity, the new formula may lead to instability in staffing levels and an incentive to get rid of higher-paid teachers.

The current funding system is based on the number of students per school, which is then correlated to the number of Teachers needed. Schools get money based on the number of Teachers, but a separate allocation is made for salaries beyond the basic pot for instructional programs.

As a result, schools with veteran, higher-paid Teachers get more money overall. Those schools are often, but not exclusively, located in higher-income neighborhoods. But advocates say switching to a per-pupil system in which salaries and instruction are covered by the same allocation will have some detrimental side-effects, especially for elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods that have managed to secure a stable teaching staff.

'Penalized for Stability'

ERNEST LOGAN: Some specifics, please.

"If Teachers who stay are now a liability to the school budget, it's a real problem," said Noreen Connell, executive director of the nonprofit coalition Education Priorities Panel. "Now schools will be penalized for Teacher retention. It really can lead to instability in staffing."

Ms. Weingarten echoed Ms. Connell's concerns about disrupting school stability. "There is not doubt that this will absolutely impact high-performing schools in a negative way," she said. "If that's the effect, we'll fight it."

Other facets of the Mayor's plan led to concerns about too much flux in the system. He announced the dissolution of the 10 regional offices he had established during the 2003-2004 school year. The result will be changes in supervision and more discretion for Principals to make staffing and budgetary decisions.

Ernest Logan, incoming president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, said that while the union agreed with the idea of empowering Principals, the Mayor's plan was confusing and short on details.

"Principals have always been accountable for the educational outcomes of their students," said Mr. Logan, "and they would welcome the possibility of receiving additional resources so that they can continue to improve student achievement."

Pension Irritant

City unions also were not thrilled about the Mayor's proposal to take pension decisions out of Albany and put them on the table as part of contract negotiations.

Mr. Bloomberg said that the "unchecked growth of pensions" was threatening the city's long-term fiscal health and accused the state of "giving away the store, getting no productivity in return and saddling our children with costly pension giveaways."

"I know he's not talking about us," said Lillian Roberts, executive director of District Council 37. "Our average pension is $20,000. He will have to fight every public employee, all 300,000 of us, if he tries to reduce pensions."

Correction Officers' Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook said the Mayor was overstating the problem. "The Legislature should be a different entity from the city in awarding pension benefits," he said. "It's not out of control. The pension system, if it's properly funded, pays for itself."

'A Prayer on His Part'

Asked if he believed the Mayor had a realistic shot of getting approval for changes or was just serving up rhetoric, Mr. Seabrook said, "I don't think it's rhetoric, but it's a hope and a prayer on any Mayor's part."

With the myriad of changes proposed, especially within the school system, educators said they were disappointed that there was not a whisper about lowering class size.

"Reducing class size is a very expensive thing to do," said Ms. Connell. "You rarely find school officials being advocates for reducing class size - you find teachers and parents and they just keep trying to get heard."