Tenure changes debated
A Democratic leader Thursday criticized Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to revamp job protection laws for public schoolteachers.
State Rep. John Bel Edwards, of Amite, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, disputed arguments that nearly every teacher in the state routinely gets “satisfactory” ratings.
He also blasted Jindal’s call to toughen hurdles for future teachers before they get the protection, which is called “tenure.”
The governor wants new teachers to be rated for five years as “highly effective” — likely in the Top 10 percent — before they are awarded tenure.
Edwards, in one of the first times that a key Democrat has spelled out objections to Jindal’s public school plans, said that standard is too high.
“We would be more intellectually honest if we said we were going to do away with it,” Edwards said of tenure protections.
Edwards was one of five panelists at a gathering on public school issues sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Baton Rouge.
Others included state Superintendent of Education John White and state House Education Committee Chairman Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge.
Jindal has said public school changes will be his top priority in 2012, which has made the issue a hot topic with nearly a month to go before the regular legislative session begins on March 12.
State Rep. Alfred Williams, D-Baton Rouge, hosted what organizers called a public education summit at 6 p.m. Thursday with state officials, teacher union representatives and an aide to Jindal invited.
In addition, a group called Stand For Children held a “telephone town hall meeting” at 6 p.m. to discuss school issues.
It was scheduled to include White and Holly Boffy, of Youngsville, a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Tenure is designed to protect educators against unfair firings.
Under current rules, teachers typically earn that status after three years in the classroom unless they encounter major problems.
Jindal, who has made tenure changes a key part of his education agenda, said the system is out of date and that, once teachers are awarded tenure, it is all but impossible to lose.
White told the group that last year 98.5 percent of teachers earned “satisfactory” ratings on job reviews.
He said only 21 of roughly 50,000 teachers lost their jobs in the past three years because of tenure-related issues.
“It dishonors teachers when we don’t accurately assess the job they are doing,” White said.
Edwards called the figures misleading because he said that most teachers resign if they are faced with serious challenges to their job performance.
Jindal wants current teachers stripped of their certification if they are rated by the state for three years as “ineffective.”
But Edwards said a tenure overhaul is premature because the state will begin this fall using a new teacher evaluation system in which half of the annual job review is linked to the growth of student achievement.
“Let’s see how the evaluation works first,” he said.
On another subject, Steve Parrill, a member of the audience who is supervisor of Middle School Instruction for the Livingston Parish school system, said school districts need financial assistance after three consecutive years of freezes in state aid.
Jindal wants a freeze this year too in spending per student amid continuing state budget problems.
“There are just so many dollars to go around,” Carter said of Parrill’s plea.
“If you heard how many people need more money, it would blow you away,” he said of requests for state aid.
Edwards disagreed.
“We are squeezing our school systems,” Edwards said. “It is just that simple.”
Caroline Roemer Shirley, another panelist and president of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, said it is healthy to have a statewide debate over public schools.
Charter schools are public schools run by non-governmental boards.
They are supposed to offer innovative classrooms without much of the red tape found in many traditional public schools.
Shirley said this year’s debate should not be about charter schools versus others.
“It should be about what is working,” she said.