(Madison) Teachers' seniority rules not related to students' success

Chris Rickert:

Teachers union seniority rules, though, appear less benign.

Joshua Cowen, a University of Kentucky assistant professor of public policy and administration, said there's "indirect evidence" on "whether unions' emphasis on seniority hinders academic achievement."

Specifically, teachers don't appear to get any better after three years on the job or after getting a master's degree.

"What this means is that school districts are spending a good deal of money to reward teachers for characteristics that are not really related to student success," he said.

Related: Madison Prep supporters revamping proposal to overcome district objections; Seniority Changes

Matthews, however, said MTI opposes the types of changes Madison Prep would seek, such as eliminating a provision that grants senior teachers priority for new job openings in the district.

"Those are rights people have," Matthews said. "It gets us right back to why there was so much reaction to what Gov. Walker did last year."

Arlene Silveira & Michael Flores Madison Teachers, Inc. Candidate Q & A

Question 23 has implications for the future of our public schools, along with the proposed Madison Preparatory Academy IB charter school:

Given Act 10's negative Impact on Collective Bargaining Agreements, will you introduce and vote for a motion to adopt the Collective Bargaining Agreements (182 page PDF Document) negotiated between MTI and The Madison Metropolitan School District as MMSD policy?

Both Silveira and Flores answered Yes.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 16, 2012 7:19 AM
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