By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press
[…] But leaders of both the NJEA and the American Federation of Teachers said they were not going to endorse a bill that stripped seniority when it came to layoffs.It was one of the last major changes Ruiz made before she unveiled her bill in mid-June.
But the seniority issue remains a major concern, particularly for Christie, who has become a nationally prominent voice on education reform.
He says that when districts lay off educators, they should keep the best ones, not just the most experienced ones.
Christie, like many education experts, says the quality of teaching makes a huge difference in how students perform. And he doesn’t believe lesser teachers should keep their jobs if better ones are laid off.
But to unions, preserving seniority is a key to the deal.
Get rid of it, said Donna Chiera, president of the state branch of the American Federation of Teachers, and layoffs would be made for other reasons. “It opens the door to a lot of inequities: You’re young, enthusiastic, cheaper, you’re the right nationality,” she said. “Seniority right now is a matter of fairness.”
She said she would be willing to accept a merit-based system if she knew schools had an evaluation system that would objectively sort out effective and ineffective teachers.
Until the last few years, the debate in New Jersey about how teacher layoffs should be carried out was largely theoretical. “Typically, education is a growth field,” said Nat Bender, a state spokesman for the AFT.
But tough times economically — along with a new state law capping property tax increases — have put school districts in budget crunches. In 2010 and 2011, layoffs were widespread.
And there are expected to be more in years to come, particularly in Newark and other urban districts where students are leaving traditional public schools to attend charter schools, leaving behind more teachers than are needed.
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