Rahm Gets Rolled: Chicago's Winners & Losers
by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 19, 2012 at 10:56 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
Cross-posted from Education Week
The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel reached a tentative agreement yesterday, and it wasn't a good day for Rahmbo or for would-be reformers.
Today Democratic ed reformers will be cranking up their spin machines to explain why Rahm didn't really get rolled by the CTU. (And, let's be honest, Democrats account for about 90+ percent of both the education blob and the education reform community.) But, while they get to work spinning this thing, let's take a look at who came out where.
Rahm Emanuel: loser- In a strike where Rahm appeared to have the upper hand, he came out with very little. The three-year deal calls for raises of 3 percent, 2 percent, and 2 percent, over and above regular step-and-lane increases (which it preserves). This will cost CPS hundreds of millions a year in new salaries by 2015. What did Rahm get in return? He basically got the teachers to comply with state law: Illinois requires that student growth account for at least 25 percent of teacher evaluation. Rahm insisted on 40 percent. They wound at 30 percent. I'm not 100% clear on what came of Rahm's solemn proposal to extend the school day; but it looks like he'll have to do it by hiring 600 more teachers because the current teachers refused to teach