Chicago board the latest to declare war on tenure

It's great to see Arne Duncan's successor in Chicago, Ron Huberman, rejecting layoffs purely by seniority:

 

The Battle of Chicago has heated up, with the school board taking aim at one of the teachers unions' most treasured traditions - tenure and the seniority system.

      Last week the school board announced that it would start laying off the worst-rated teachers first, regardless of seniority. Officials say the new policy could affect up to 200 teachers who have recently been rated "unsatisfactory" by building principals.

      Chicago teachers are annually rated as superior, excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Those who rate the lowest are generally given an opportunity to improve, but that luxury may no longer be possible during tough economic times.

      When it comes to layoffs, district officials say they have a responsibility to keep the best and the brightest in front of the chalkboard and move lesser teachers out the door.

      The policy will be invoked if the district follows through with plans for massive layoffs and to increase maximum class sizes from 32 to 35 students, according to officials. The district may also invoke the policy during future periods of layoff due to shrinking enrollment, they said.

      The move by the Chicago board is the latest in a series of high-profile attacks on tenure throughout the nation. Lawmakers in Arizona and Colorado paved the way earlier this year by passing tough tenure reform laws, while Florida barely missed out when the governor vetoed strong reform legislation that was passed by the legislature with bipartisan support.

      Lawmakers in California and Louisiana have also been debating tenure reform.

      Karen Lewis, president-elect of the Chicago Teachers Union, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the new policy is "belligerent" and "confrontational," and quite possibly illegal. She said union attorneys would be investigating the situation in short order.

      Chicago School CEO Ron Huberman quoted the state school code, which lists "performance ratings or evaluations" as criteria to consider when layoffs occur.

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July 1, 2010 https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:24830.8420955179/rid:ec0d99af9548c1e22c60ec7957e39432   Chicago board the latest to declare war on tenure District says it will keep the best teachers, regardless of seniority