San Diego Union-Tribune, March 17, 2002
Power play
Teachers union resists reform at every turn
During contract talks, teachers union negotiators are understandably concerned about salaries, fringe benefits and working conditions. But because teachers unions wield inordinate influence in collective bargaining and in the Legislature, meaningful education reform remains stuck in second gear.
A new study, Contract For Failure: The Impact of Collective Bargaining on the Quality of California's Schools, illustrates this very point. The 121-page report from the Pacific Research Institute assesses the negative impact of teacher contracts in 460 school districts, including the 10 largest, from San Diego to Sacramento.
It found that the largest districts routinely have restrictive contracts, "which often insulate teachers from the complaints and influences of parents, students and leaders of the community." That San Diego Unified's contract is classified as "very restrictive" is hardly surprising.
When the San Diego district caved in to striking teachers seven years ago, the school board consented to school site councils that essentially shifted control of the schools to the union. These councils, dominated by teachers, could largely determine the assignment of building principals and decide curriculum matters. When reform-minded Alan Bersin took over as superintendent in 1998, he began to shift the balance of power back to the central office. But he has had to battle the union nearly every step of the way.
Bersin's reforms, notably his Blueprint for Student Success, have been a flash point with the union, sparking grievances, protests at school board meetings, and other forms of guerrilla theater.
When Bersin tried to implement the peer-coaching program, he was challenged by the union. Thanks in part to the intercession of SDSU President Stephen Weber, the district was finally able to get this good idea into place.
The union was no less recalcitrant concerning the contractual requirement that central office-based resource teachers be rotated every three years. Bersin resolved that problem by getting the school board to reclassify these specialists as administrators.
Then there is the post-and-bid contract provision, which enables experienced teachers to escape schools in poor neighborhoods where they are most needed, while obliging principals to be creative in listing job specifications to help ensure they get the staff they need. This proviso, perhaps more than anything else, undercuts the union's purported commitment to a quality education for all kids.
The institute's report should be read by lawmakers before they vote on a bill backed by the California Teachers Association that would give unions even greater power over local school districts.
Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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