This is a sampling of The Education Report, Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog. Read more atwww.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatyMurphy.
Last week I wrote about the Oakland school district administration and Oakland Education Association returning to the bargaining table after the passage of Proposition 30, a state tax measure that spared the school district from massive, midyear state funding cutbacks.
Readers had much to say about what they hoped to see in the new contract, beyond the question of compensation. (Teachers have asked for a 4 percent raise.) They debated whether and how to reward outstanding teachers, as the district's proposal calls for the creation of a "career ladder" for educators. Such a system would give the best teachers a chance to advance and earn more money without having to leave teaching and enter administration, which is the de facto career ladder for many educators.
Here's some of what they had to say about the two proposals:
Trish Gorham (OEA president): We can always count on the voters of Oakland to support schools. Thank you, once again, for your commitment to maintain a Unified Public Education System.
And I maintain my optimism for a timely settlement to a fair contract.
1day At A Time: What does "career ladder" for outstanding teachers, mean? I thought unions fought
against labeling any member as being better than another.
What about a great teacher that wants to stay in teaching? There are some who see this as a life calling. Pay them more!!!
I have no problem with paying higher taxes to increase salary of great teachers, but I'm dismayed by the idea of paying ALL a higher salary. Convince the public that the labor force it supports is systematically monitored for quality assurance. ...
The fundamental question is: When the outcomes are unacceptable, but people are rated as performing, we