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1/11/2010
School contracts and Race to the Top
A couple of things – first, the Neenah Schools contract settlement – I read the Post-Crescent account Friday and interpreted the recent deal as a total 4.4% over two years. No.
I talked with Neenah School District HR folks and the increase is an average 4.4% per year. Wow. Where are they going to get that kind of money? (December 29: Teacher cuts, not pay freezes recommended) And as much to the point, how will other districts in the area afford that?
As many of you know, if a school district (or municipality) can’t come to terms with their union(s), they can choose to go to arbitration – where neutral arbitrators decide which party’s last offer is best. That “best” includes which offer may be closest to other settlements in the area. And thanks to your legislators and mine, the state budget passed last June (yup, policy in the budget – imagine) says arbitrators are no longer required (point 3) to take local economic conditions or a district’s ability to pay into consideration.
Do you see a referendum and higher property taxes coming?
Race to the Top Dollars
Several Wisconsin school districts are considering not applying for Race to the Top (RTTT) dollars.
At this point, Appleton has no such objections. Superintendent Lee Allinger recently patiently helped me understand RTTT. One piece of the rubric driving the RTTT competition is the percent of a state’s school districts that sign Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), agreeing to wanting those big bucks and to “race to the top.”
The idea I got from Allinger is that it’s a no-brainer at this stage in the process. If (that’s a big IF) Wisconsin is a RTTT victor, individual school districts will have 90 days to develop an action plan – and could still opt out at any point in that process.
The upside:
- $1.1 million for Appleton
- Dollars would be used for Title I programs AASD is already heavily invested in.
- The aims and goals of RTTT and AASD sync together well – almost perfectly.
The downside:
- The funding cliff – extra dollars that won’t be replaced – or will have to be replaced by local property tax dollars.
- A perceived problem by union leadership that teacher evaluations would be influenced by student test and performance results.
Allinger believes Wisconsin has a small chance of receiving RTTT dollars. But it would be a huge mistake for AASD not to support the process. The state’s application will be strongest if MOUs are signed by district Superintendents, their School Board presidents and their union presidents. Appleton’s MOU will be signed by only Superintendent Allinger and Board President Sharon Fenlon.
It’s my understanding WEAC’s recommendation has been for local unions not to sign the MOU. Between WEAC’s teacher evaluation position and an inability to come to agreement on MPS (also a WEAC dilemma), for good or not, those extra federal bucks most likely won’t be coming to Wisconsin.
The Wall Street Journal explained it well last week:
Teachers unions … withhold[ing] support for their state Race to the Top applications …. matters because the Administration has placed a premium on states garnering "local school district support" in order to win a grant. Not having union buy-in isn't fatal, but it definitely hurts a state's chances of getting federal funds.
States will be evaluated on a 500-point system, with the largest number of points (138) going to states that improve teacher effectiveness by using student performance to help rate instructors. States are awarded 45 additional points for getting "local education agencies" to sign off on their applications—about the same number of points they get for turning around failing schools.
…. Race to the Top awards are supposed to go to states demonstrating "a coordinated and deep-seated commitment to reform." Letting unions undermine state reform applications is a race to nowhere.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
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