The NJEA Sees November from Wisconsin, Too

November 2013, to be precise.

They were praising a proposal on Friday (A1878) championed by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18) (chairman of the State Assembly’s Education Committee) that, to quote the NJEA’s press release, “shortens the time needed to remove ineffective teachers by removing tenure cases from the court system and placing them before highly qualified arbitrators who can hear and rule on cases more quickly and at a fraction of the cost of a court case.” Diegnan’s bill also seeks to make the 4-year mark the new milepost for awarding teacher tenure (currently, the probationary period is three years).

Too funny, Save Jerseyans!

First of all, what difference does an extra year make? Younger teachers usually aren’t the problem. Older, burned-out hippies pulling down close to six-figure salaries seem to be unaffected by this legislation. That’s a material defect in my humble opinion.

And would you or I be entitled to arbitration if our job performance was called into question? No! Employment in the private sector is “at will,” i.e., you or I can be fired for just about any non-discriminatory reason (like gender or race).

Now, I fully understand that the core problem here is largely the product of a good faith disagreement: what makes a “good” teacher? Or, more precisely, how do we measure/evaluate a teacher in a public school? Smarter people than me can’t figure it out, Save Jerseyans. I happen to believe the only workable solution (but by no means perfect solution) is introducing private competition vis-à-vis charter schools and voucher programs. Then we’ll see which once and for all which schools are best capable of maximizing student preparedness for the next step – college, trade school and the business world generally.

That said, Assemblyman Diegnan’s bill is, at best, a well-intentioned band aid. At worst, it’s a feigned attempt at embracing reform while accomplishing nothing towards that end.

What I find interesting?

The NJEA’s tone as of late is slightly less defensive. Would we have heard boo from them about tenure reform in 2009? Even if it’s all calculated lip service, and despite the fact that the proposals are all no better than “band aids” or snake oil, it’s reasonable to assume these tactical changes aren’t happening in a vacuum. A combination of factors, including (1) Governor Christie’s persistent popularity, (2) recent events in Wisconsin (where Scott Walker won almost 40% of the union vote?!), (3) record youth unemployment and (4) the utter failure of their HUGE media spending sprees must’ve collectively given the NJEA leadership cause to adjust its expectations. We’ll see if it continues to be reflected in their rhetoric.

Just don’t expect any of this to translate into real, far-reaching results until we win a Republican legislature. Hopefully I live to see it. The NJEA is just making sure their messaging doesn’t help my dreams don’t come true in 2013. They don’t want a Walker repeat in New Jersey.

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8405 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.