Monday, November 12, 2012

Jersey Jazzman: Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14

Jersey Jazzman: Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14:


Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14

The controversial Newark teachers contract vote is this Wednesday, November 14. Sandy pushed back the vote to this late date; now the teachers will have to decide whether to ratify a contract that features a whole lot of private money in exchange for accepting a merit pay system.

I really don't have much to add to my last post on the subject. The private funds make this an unusual situation, so, as much as I have worried about this being a precedent for the rest of the state, I think it will be hard for any other district to make the case that their teachers should follow suit.

Tom Moran can call the teachers opposed to this contract liars all day, but that doesn't change the facts: merit pay doesn't work, and the Newark teacher evaluation system is far too unreliable to distribute the bonuses fairly. In addition, there are some real concerns from the deal's critics about back pay, step guides, hours, work