Indiana

More Contractual Obligations

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

It’s no big secret that education reform will be one of the top priorities for lawmakers to address when they come back in January.   Apart from more accountability and better ways to measure teacher and school performance, lawmakers are also expected to tackle collective bargaining.   I doubt if there will be a serious effort to repeal collective bargaining in schools, but someone really should limit teacher contracts to wages and benefits.

You may recall I posted a list of some contractual provisions in agreements from across the state that have nothing to do with educating kids, well here are some more as of December 2010.

• No teacher shall receive a salary less than they received in the previous school year.
• Teachers must only work 120 days a year to receive full annual credit for pay increases.
• Union President allowed 55 days of leave per school year for union business.
• Union shall have the right to use school facilities and equipment at no cost.
• Schools may only be reconstructed in a manner endorsed by the union, which includes shared decision making for both building level and system-wide restructuring.
• Teacher student contact time must not exceed 5.666 hours per day.
• No transcripts are allowed for any meetings between parents and teachers when discussing disputed matters.
• Teachers must be disciplined 5 separate times in response to 5 separate acts of misconduct before the contract may be canceled.
• The board shall provide to retired teachers $14,000 annually for health insurance premiums until the retiree is eligible for Medicare.
• Show choir director exempt from RIF (Reduction in workforce).
• All relative humidity in excess of 60% shall be eliminated.
• All carpet shall be vacuumed using a filtration system that “filters at greater than 99% efficient at 0.3 micron and that prevents particulates from entering the workplace.
• Intercom systems and electronic devices shall not be used for teacher evaluations.

If you can make a connection about how any of these provisions can create a better environment for learning and improve the quality of education in the classroom, please let me know.  I don’t see it.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on December 28, 2010 (boomark / email).