With New York City schools
planning for up to 8,500 layoffs, new teachers like Mr. Borock, and half a dozen others at his school, could be some of the ones most likely to be let go. That has led the schools chancellor,
Joel I. Klein, into a high-stakes battle with the teachers’ union to overturn seniority rules that have been in place for decades.
Facing the likelihood of the largest number of layoffs in more than a generation, Mr. Klein and his counterparts around the country say that the rules, which require that the most recently hired teachers be the first to lose their jobs, are an anachronism in the era of accountability that will upend their efforts of the last few years to recruit new teachers, improve teacher performance and reward those who do best.
“Nobody I’ve talked to thinks seniority is a rational way to go,” Mr. Klein said. “Obviously there are some senior teachers who are extraordinary. You recruit young talent you think is good for the future, and to just get rid of that by the numbers seems to me to be a nonsensical approach.”
This month city officials persuaded lawmakers in Albany to
introduce a bill that would allow the city to decide which teachers to let go, although its chances of passing are slim.
Similar legislation in California, where thousands of young teachers have received letters saying they could be out of work, moved forward last week, backed by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arizona abolished seniority rules last year, and this month its Legislature
banned the use of seniority if teachers are rehired.
Unions argue that administrators want to do away with seniority protections so they can
