By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
Sen. Teresa Ruiz has been working for more than two years to find agreement on tenure reform, and is now nearing the finish line with a bill that could dramatically improve public schools.
It gives school districts the power to fire teachers who perform poorly for two consecutive years. It bases that judgment on evidence of student progress. And it sweeps away the bureaucratic obstacles that can make firing a single bad teachers an ordeal costing $200,000 and taking years of effort.
Teachers unions have fought against tough tenure reform for years. But now that it seems inevitable, they are instead trying to soften the edges. Sadly, and despite the efforts of Ruiz (D-Essex), it seems they are about to score at least one big win — protecting absolute seniority rights during time of layoffs.
In a stable suburban district where layoffs are rare, this will have little impact. But many of New Jersey’s cities are losing population, and almost all of the school districts are losing more students as charter schools expand. Newark, for example, could lose 200 teachers in the next several years.
So which teachers will go? Superintendent Cami Anderson wants to start by firing the teachers no principal wants. She can’t do that under the current rules. She would have to fire her least experienced teachers, some of whom are doing exceptionally well. For now, she has put the unwanted teachers into an “excess teacher pool” and assigned them lesser duties, such as substituting. But that’s expensive and not sustainable over the long term.
So consider this: The laws of New Jersey are likely to force Anderson to fire teachers who everyone agrees are doing excellent work, and to keep those who are doing poorly.
It is obscene that the rules of this game are rigged to protect adults, rather than children. And it is heartbreaking that the damage lands squarely on the urban districts, where real reform is needed most.
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