Seniority and tenure: on their way out?

By Linda

A major blow to the job security of “senior” Los Angeles Unified School District teachers came this week as a result of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of civil rights lawyers on behalf of students at three LAUSD middle schools. The suit alleged that teacher layoffs based solely on seniority have disproportionately harmed disadvantaged and minority students because the schools they attend are most regularly staffed by newer teachers. When layoffs become necessary, as they have recently due to budget woes, any progress which has been made at those schools is wiped out by a massive turnover in personnel and an influx of more “senior” teachers who really don’t want to be there.

The settlement reached between LAUSD and attorneys representing the students prevents layoffs at up to 45 district schools and gives the district discretion in choosing 20 of those schools.

Naturally, the United Teachers of Los Angeles is not happy about this turn of events. According to an L.A. Times article, ”Richard Ingersoll, an education expert for the union, argued that the settlement would ‘divert attention from the real problem, which is that these schools are a leaky bucket.’”

(Isn’t it nice that we have experts to make these kind of pronouncements? It is so much easier to call a school a “leaky bucket” than to take on the challenge of improving things in whatever way we can.)

Los Angeles is not the only place where battle lines are being drawn over the issue of seniority and tenure. There are moves in a number of other states, including Florida, New Jersey, Utah, Wyoming, and Rhode Island to eliminate tenure. And in Illinois legislation is pending which would allow teachers to earn tenure only after being rated as “proficient” four years in a row, while allowing for the loss of tenure following two consecutive years of being rated as “ineffective.” http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/drupal/content/teacher-tenure-ropes

While seniority and tenure are not solely responsible for the poor state of education in LAUSD, they have wreaked significant harm, as the recent series of articles by the L.A. Times shows. Their analysis also showed that had teacher performance been the criteria for the last round of layoffs, rather than seniority, the district would have saved an estimated 25% more teachers from layoff. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1205-teachers-seniority-20101204,0,4822071.story

I am not unsympathetic to the plight of older teachers. As somone now eligible for the “Senior Slam” at Denny’s, I know how difficult it is for older people to find work and keep it. And recent Supreme Court rulings have made it very difficult for workers to win age discrimination lawsuits. It’s always a cost saver to let older workers go, as opposed to younger employees, because older workers generally earn more.

But I have also seen ineffective teachers shuffled between schools and allowed to negatively impact students when they should have been summarily dismissed. And that is something that just should not happen. One local teacher, I was told, never submitted report card grades for his students, but due to the rules governing how teachers are dismissed, he could not be fired immediately. The district had to instead hire a long-term substitute and then assign the incompetent teacher to work at the district office doing busy work until the wheels of “teacher justice” reached their conclusion.

When I saw news footage of teachers in one SoCal city picketing in protest of pay cuts, I, like many others, was infuriated. Most everyone in the country has seen their earnings go down in the last couple of years, and our states and cities are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. How is it that people who purport to love children and wish to serve their community can act in such a selfish way? Don’t they know how lucky they are to have jobs at all?

McGrath Elementary, the school where I spend most of my working hours, is one of those schools that has struggled mightily since it opened, with a student population which is comprised mostly of economically disadvantaged children and English language learners. Leading a cadre of young, very hardworking teachers heavily schooled in the latest research and highly trained in working with the population they serve, Principal Larry Heath has succeeded where so many others have failed. The school boasts an API of 859 — unheard of in other schools of comparable demographic makeup. But will that progress hold?

More state budget cuts loom. Subsidies from the federal government which saved jobs at the beginning of this school year, will not be in play for next school year. More layoffs seem inevitable. As teachers and the Newhall School District enter into negotiations in the coming week, it will be interesting to see how the seniority issue is handled locally and what the impact will be.

For those interested in what we can expect next school year, the SCV Special Education Advisory Committee is holding a “Parent Workshop” entitled “The Impact of the State Budget Crisis on Public Education in Santa Clarita Valley” on Monday, February 2, @ 7:00 p.m. A group of school board members and administrators representing all five of the local school districts will be there to discuss the projected cuts for the coming year. The advisory committee says it “will assist you in making your opinions known to our State Legislators following this meeting.” Of course expressing an opinion is one thing; getting them to act on that opinion quite another.

Comments (14)

spineflower2January 22, 2011 at 11:18 pm

LAUSD is as good at getting rid of bad teachers as the Catholic church is at getting rid of child molesters. And the union isn’t any better.

Timothy MyersJanuary 23, 2011 at 7:37 am

A bit of a different take. Rationally, one can only blame the elected school boards and their hired administrators for this current state. Either overtly (in the case of LAUSD where the teachers union supports and runs candidates that usually win in the low turnout elections) 0r due to laziness, where I think in the Hart District past elected members and administrators have just thought it easier to give in to the union on issues rather than really have a public fight. And the examples are not good for fighting. In the San Juan Capistrano Unified School District where the Board preserved jobs by imposing a 10% across the board pay cut they were subjected to two or three recall efforts and an embarrassing teachers strike, not to mention the continuous grind of having a few dozen lunatics show up at every board meeting and scream at you. We had a bit of a softer revolt in the Hart District and others but remember the kid petitions for pink slipped teachers and the 3,000 face book members bitching about the cancellation of 8th grade promotion. My father in law is an old time Teamster, and while their was no love between management and the Union management did expect the Union to run off poor workers through their internal process as part of the collective bargaining agreement or there would be negative consequences in the next round of bargaining. Southwest Airlines also prefers working with a pilot and attendant unions since one only has to go to the leadership to discuss and implement changes. But these are businesses that have to meet profit goals on a short term basis or the leadership lose THEIR jobs. It appears in the public sector the only thing that will break the cumulative madness is the lack of sufficient funds that will force the sleepy leaderships’ hands.

SCV LoverJanuary 23, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Another baseless attack from a person that hasn’t actually taught children. Have you created lesson plans Linda or do you just volunteer for three hours?

4eyedsueJanuary 23, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Where was the “attack”? Wow, I really didn’t read it like that. SCV Lover- are teachers the only people qualified enough to have an opinion on the schools?

Gang FangJanuary 23, 2011 at 4:23 pm

I gotta say, I didn’t sense an “attack” either. People are so quick to outdraw the other person these days.

Phil EllisJanuary 23, 2011 at 5:11 pm

I saw no attack either. Linda has a good grasp about what is happening in education today. She is fortunate to work at a school in a low income area with a very high number of English Language Learners that has gained scores that are not only unheard of comparable demographic makeup, but are also in line with the rest of the high performing schools in the SCV. Her opinion as to the cause (caring administrators and teachers) is right on. Although, Linda and I have disagreed before, today’s post meets no objection. Linda is in the midst of education at its best and I gladly listen to her comments. Her comments are deserving of a good read by those who want to know what is really happening in education. Thanks. Linda

LindaJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:23 pm

Thank you, Phil.

LindaJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:21 pm

@SCV Lover – Maybe you ought to read a little more carefully. I teach children every day as a paid instructional assistant and as a substitute teacher and have done so for over five years now. I have prepared lesson plans, although I do not need to do so on a regular basis. I am a dues paying member of the California Teachers Association but am very happy to say I have no association whatsoever with UTLA. I have nothing but respect for the teachers I work alongside at McGrath. But I think anyone who defends incompetence at the expense of children is not worthy of the title “teacher.”

CCJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:47 am

Baseless? Did you notice all the support she embedded in her write-up? If you want to see the definition of baseless, you should look in the mirror my friend.

CCJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:46 am

Very nice article RM. Thoughtful and fair. I have been on the ‘lets get rid of tenure’ bandwagon for some time, but I could accept the ideas that you could get tenure but lose it if you are ineffective. I have known many teachers of all ages and their effectiveness had little to do with their age. Some of my most beloved teachers were ancient (at least in my childhood eyes). At some point in time we have to be realistic about education. This is a first step.

Jeff (But not the one that runs this blogJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:14 am

Being a teacher for life should not be treated as a right, if one wants to continue to teach they should do more than rely on tenure. There are many wonderful teachers and there are many mediocre to bad ones as well, being mediocre or bad should not be protected under the insurance policy of tenure. If you are a bad teacher or burnt out or no longer care it should not be so difficult to get rid of you.

Phil EllisJanuary 24, 2011 at 11:12 am

Jeff, so true, but you forgot the ones that are less than mediocre. Teaching is no different than other professions where some are great, some are good and others aren’t. Many professional groups have a mechanism to police their members (the effectiveness of these mechanisms is left for another discussion) and teachers are slowly beginning to see that they need to have this as well. “Experiments” are already showing up in many parts of the country – some even led by the unions.

townbeetJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:37 pm

It is disappointing to read this commentary piece on SCVtalk. It does have a promising title and it would have surely been a great discussion starter about the need to review and redo both tenure and seniority incentives for teachers in the California education system. But the content reads like praise for the victorious school district administrations and villification of the rest of the stakeholders in the CA education system, especially those “senior” teachers with the fat checks and those horrible unions that represent them. How dare those tenured old cats partake at the discounted piece of your Deny’s pie? And how dare they profess to love the children just as much as the school administrators who are doing so much with so little, those poor dears are!

LindaJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:41 pm

How dare those tenured old cats partake at the discounted piece of your Deny’s pie? Hardly an accurate portrayal of what I’ve written, townbeet. I think it’s disappointing that those who disagree with what I’ve written choose not to offer any meaningful argument in response, much less support their mischaracterization of my me or my views with evidence of any kind. Fascinating too that those responses come from the halls of academe. One would hope for better.

spineflower2January 22, 2011 at 11:18 pm
LAUSD is as good at getting rid of bad teachers as the Catholic church is at getting rid of child molesters. And the union isn’t any better.
Timothy MyersJanuary 23, 2011 at 7:37 am
A bit of a different take. Rationally, one can only blame the elected school boards and their hired administrators for this current state. Either overtly (in the case of LAUSD where the teachers union supports and runs candidates that usually win in the low turnout elections) 0r due to laziness, where I think in the Hart District past elected members and administrators have just thought it easier to give in to the union on issues rather than really have a public fight. And the examples are not good for fighting. In the San Juan Capistrano Unified School District where the Board preserved jobs by imposing a 10% across the board pay cut they were subjected to two or three recall efforts and an embarrassing teachers strike, not to mention the continuous grind of having a few dozen lunatics show up at every board meeting and scream at you. We had a bit of a softer revolt in the Hart District and others but remember the kid petitions for pink slipped teachers and the 3,000 face book members bitching about the cancellation of 8th grade promotion. My father in law is an old time Teamster, and while their was no love between management and the Union management did expect the Union to run off poor workers through their internal process as part of the collective bargaining agreement or there would be negative consequences in the next round of bargaining. Southwest Airlines also prefers working with a pilot and attendant unions since one only has to go to the leadership to discuss and implement changes. But these are businesses that have to meet profit goals on a short term basis or the leadership lose THEIR jobs. It appears in the public sector the only thing that will break the cumulative madness is the lack of sufficient funds that will force the sleepy leaderships’ hands.
SCV LoverJanuary 23, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Another baseless attack from a person that hasn’t actually taught children. Have you created lesson plans Linda or do you just volunteer for three hours?
4eyedsueJanuary 23, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Where was the “attack”? Wow, I really didn’t read it like that. SCV Lover- are teachers the only people qualified enough to have an opinion on the schools?
Gang FangJanuary 23, 2011 at 4:23 pm
I gotta say, I didn’t sense an “attack” either. People are so quick to outdraw the other person these days.
Phil EllisJanuary 23, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I saw no attack either. Linda has a good grasp about what is happening in education today. She is fortunate to work at a school in a low income area with a very high number of English Language Learners that has gained scores that are not only unheard of comparable demographic makeup, but are also in line with the rest of the high performing schools in the SCV. Her opinion as to the cause (caring administrators and teachers) is right on. Although, Linda and I have disagreed before, today’s post meets no objection. Linda is in the midst of education at its best and I gladly listen to her comments. Her comments are deserving of a good read by those who want to know what is really happening in education. Thanks. Linda
LindaJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Thank you, Phil.
LindaJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:21 pm
@SCV Lover – Maybe you ought to read a little more carefully. I teach children every day as a paid instructional assistant and as a substitute teacher and have done so for over five years now. I have prepared lesson plans, although I do not need to do so on a regular basis. I am a dues paying member of the California Teachers Association but am very happy to say I have no association whatsoever with UTLA. I have nothing but respect for the teachers I work alongside at McGrath. But I think anyone who defends incompetence at the expense of children is not worthy of the title “teacher.”
CCJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:47 am
Baseless? Did you notice all the support she embedded in her write-up? If you want to see the definition of baseless, you should look in the mirror my friend.
CCJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:46 am
Very nice article RM. Thoughtful and fair. I have been on the ‘lets get rid of tenure’ bandwagon for some time, but I could accept the ideas that you could get tenure but lose it if you are ineffective. I have known many teachers of all ages and their effectiveness had little to do with their age. Some of my most beloved teachers were ancient (at least in my childhood eyes). At some point in time we have to be realistic about education. This is a first step.
Jeff (But not the one that runs this blogJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:14 am
Being a teacher for life should not be treated as a right, if one wants to continue to teach they should do more than rely on tenure. There are many wonderful teachers and there are many mediocre to bad ones as well, being mediocre or bad should not be protected under the insurance policy of tenure. If you are a bad teacher or burnt out or no longer care it should not be so difficult to get rid of you.
Phil EllisJanuary 24, 2011 at 11:12 am
Jeff, so true, but you forgot the ones that are less than mediocre. Teaching is no different than other professions where some are great, some are good and others aren’t. Many professional groups have a mechanism to police their members (the effectiveness of these mechanisms is left for another discussion) and teachers are slowly beginning to see that they need to have this as well. “Experiments” are already showing up in many parts of the country – some even led by the unions.
townbeetJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:37 pm
It is disappointing to read this commentary piece on SCVtalk. It does have a promising title and it would have surely been a great discussion starter about the need to review and redo both tenure and seniority incentives for teachers in the California education system. But the content reads like praise for the victorious school district administrations and villification of the rest of the stakeholders in the CA education system, especially those “senior” teachers with the fat checks and those horrible unions that represent them. How dare those tenured old cats partake at the discounted piece of your Deny’s pie? And how dare they profess to love the children just as much as the school administrators who are doing so much with so little, those poor dears are!
LindaJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:41 pm
How dare those tenured old cats partake at the discounted piece of your Deny’s pie? Hardly an accurate portrayal of what I’ve written, townbeet. I think it’s disappointing that those who disagree with what I’ve written choose not to offer any meaningful argument in response, much less support their mischaracterization of my me or my views with evidence of any kind. Fascinating too that those responses come from the halls of academe. One would hope for better.