Ben Boychuk: Democrats stay silent on tenure ruling opposed by teachers’ union.
Published: Saturday, Jul. 26, 2014 - 12:00 am
When recently has there been a more radioactive lawsuit than Vergara v. California? Think about it. Every elected fool and knave had an opinion – informed or not – about Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case surrounding California’s Proposition 8, the constitutional definition of marriage and the transformation of a fundamental social institution.
But a case that could reshape the way California hires, retains and fires its public school teachers? A civil rights lawsuit pitting low-income kids against perhaps the most powerful political interest group in the state? A case about – ahem – equal rights?
Mum’s the word from the pols. Strange.
Some intrepid reporter asked Gov. Jerry Brown the other day why people haven’t heard from him about the landmark decision to void the state’s teacher tenure, seniority and dismissal statutes. “You haven’t heard from me,” Brown replied, “because I haven’t said anything.”
Oh. Well, in that case, carry on, sir. Sorry to trouble you. Perhaps you could get back to us when it’s more convenient. How does your calendar look on Nov. 5?
The Vergara case really should be a bigger election issue than it appears right now. Yet it’s not as though the governor absolutely must have an opinion about the decision, which Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu handed down on June 10 after nearly two months of deliberation. It’s just that, unlike the gay marriage case, it’s much harder to demonize the plaintiffs when they’re poor children trying to get a halfway decent education.
Hmm. Does anyone know what Beatriz Vergara thinks about gay marriage?
Meantime, Attorney General Kamala Harris this week filed a 22-page request with Treu asking him to clarify his 16-page ruling. Is the state planning an appeal? Hey, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Harris’ filing, The Bee reported, simply asks the judge to “explain the factual and legal justification for his decision in the final ruling.”
So maybe the state won’t appeal. Right. And maybe Sacramento taxpayers will come out ahead on the Kings arena deal.
The California Teachers Association is itching to fight Treu’s decision. The CTA, which City Journal named “the Worst Union in America” two years ago, called the lawsuit “meritless” from the beginning – as if that makes it so. The union professes to be baffled at Treu’s reasoning. It wants answers, too.
“The decision didn’t go into a lot of detail about why,” said Jonathan Goldman, a CTA spokesman. “For anybody to move forward with an appeal, or anything else, all parties need to know why.”
Why are California’s laws protecting incompetent teachers a “shock to the conscience,” as Treu putBen Boychuk: Democrats stay silent on tenure ruling opposed by teachers’ union. - Viewpoints - The Sacramento Bee: