Thank a union boss: Using seniority, CCSD to lay off 1,015 teachers
CCSD Superintendent Dwight Jones warned that an unelected, unaccountable arbitrator from California rewarding the Clark County Education Association's stall tactics would lead to 1,000 pink slips, and here they are. Via the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Class sizes will increase and more than 1,000 teachers will be laid off if the Clark County School Board adopts its proposed budget tonight.Now, as Agenda co-host Elizabeth Crum noted today when I was a guest on her show, 1,015 layoffs doesn't mean that those 1,015 employees won't have a job in CCSD next year. Pink slips will be given to 1,015 CCSD workers, but after teachers retire or leave, some or all of those teachers will be hired back, although there will be 1,015 fewer positions next year.
The School District must cut $60 million in spending. Officials had planned on saving that money by freezing teacher pay. But the Clark County Education Association, the teacher's union, fought that plan. An arbitrator ruled in the union's favor.
As a result, according to a memo sent out Wednesday, 1,015 teacher positions will be eliminated. This will result in classes increasing by about two or three students each.
This led to a couple of unintentional hilarious tweets from the Nevada State Education Association, including this one.
This is funny, because emphasizing the number of layoffs and ignoring vacancies and unfilled positions mitigating those layoffs is exactly what union bosses do during legislative sessions to ratchet up pressure for increasing education funding.
Also, NSEA has just said or at least implied that reducing 1,015 positions is a scare tactic, even though eliminating 1,015 positions means larger class sizes! The implication being that NSEA thinks there's no reason to be scared of larger class sizes.
And on this, NSEA would be right - even though I don't think that's what the NSEA union bosses intended - because eliminating CCSD's 1,015 worst teachers would be a boon to student achievement.
Why?
Because a teacher is the most important school-controlled factor in student achievement. Students with an excellent teacher learn 18 months of material in one year; students with an ineffective teacher learn 6 months of material in one year. Some people want "smaller classes," but the most important school-controlled factor in student learning is teacher quality, not class size.
Unfortunately, CCEA union bosses prevented this from happening, because they ensured that after 32 teachers were laid off for disciplinary reasons, layoffs will occur based on seniority.
So CCSD's seven best new teachers will be rewarded with pink slips, students will lose two to four months worth of learning next year and the dance of the lemons will continue. All because union bosses succeeded in protecting ineffective teachers that harm the learning of your children.
If you like this system, thank the union bosses at the NSEA and CCEA.
If you want a better system, the need to eliminate or, at least, seriously reform collective bargaining for public-sector unions and to offer school choice for all parents has never been clearer.
Read moreSeven outstanding rookie CCSD teachers honored with pink slips
Second, you're fired.
That doesn't make any sense, does it? Of course not, but thanks to a recent victory for the union bosses in the Nevada State Education Association and the Clark County Education Association that's exactly what's happening.
Last week, the seven teachers listed above were honored by the CCSD Board of Trustees as the best new teachers in the District. While these teachers received plaques applauding their accomplishments, they are among the lowest teachers on the seniority totem pole.
Regardless, after an unelected, unaccountable arbitrator from California rewarded CCEA's stalling tactics by siding with the union in arbitration, CCSD announced it would be forced to lay off up to 1,000 teachers. Thanks to the efforts of union bosses to preserve seniority in layoffs, only 38 teachers with disciplinary problems will be released before seniority-based layoffs begin.
Since there are less than 850 first year teachers, seven of CCSD's best new teachers will be getting pink slips.
This means that, unless attrition allows CCSD to hire these teachers back, hundreds of children - and these could be your children - will have less effective teachers and that hundreds of children will learn less next year.
Thanks union bosses!
Students vs. union. Your child vs. union bosses. An effective education for your child or dues for the Nevada State Education Association.
Those are the stakes. Those are the sides.
We stand with students.
Where do you stand?
Teacher with bad logic doesn't mean all teachers have bad logic
There's been a lot of attention focused recently on the need to fire bad teachers. That this is a controversial statement is pretty amazing, but such is the power of the union bosses of the Nevada State Education Association and its county-based affiliates.
In a recent letter to the editor in the Las Vegas Sun, CCSD teacher Jeremy M. Christensen started his letter with this.
We must fire bad teachers. Taxpayers good, teachers bad.Wait ... what? How does that make any sense? It doesn't of course. This would be like saying teacher Jeremy M. Christensen uses faulty logic; therefore all teachers use bad logic.
Both are non sequiturs.
Christensen continues:
Clark County has some of the largest class sizes in nation, with some of least involved parents and most transient families. Is it safe to assume that if you increase the workload on any employee that at some point that employee's effectiveness would decline? Can a doctor cure 200 patients in a day? Can a teacher change the lives of 180 students in day? ... Some of my students have been accepted to Yale, Stanford, Northwestern, UCLA and many other fine universities this year because they are good students; some of them have good parents and all of them had some good teachers. Congratulations to them and their families and their school.No one is going to deny that there are many factors in a student's achievement that a school can't control - wealth or poverty of a student's family, parental involvement, if English is their first or second language or even a student's motivation.
But there are also many factors a school can control and of those factors, teacher quality is single the most important one. As Nevada's Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. James W. Guthrie notes, "Terminating the lowest five percent of ineffective teachers and replacing them with teachers who are only average in effectiveness would of itself elevate U.S. achievement to among the highest in the industrial world."
That's why teacher quality is so important. And pointing that out doesn't mean you think all teachers are bad - it's precisely because we know how important good teachers are to your children that we must work so hard to remove or improve the ineffective ones.
Private retirement accounts would beat the pants off of Social Security
You've heard it's a "Ponzi scheme." It is. President Johnson, in trying to build support for his Medicare proposal, tried to make it look like more money was available in the Social Security Trust Fund than was really the case by switching its accounting from an endowment-type fund that would pay out benefits from returns on the massive capital held in the account to a pay-go system. With the pay-go system, Johnson began to liquidate the Trust Fund's holdings and use them for current benefits--ironically increasing future liabilities within one entitlement program in order to create political support for a new one.
Ever since, Social Security benefits payments have been made to retirees using revenues from current workers--an inter-generational wealth transfer and the very definition of a Ponzi scheme.
Ignoring 50 years of spending history, Sebelius wants to throw money at public schools
Fact: Nevada's nearly tripled inflation-adjusted, per-pupil spending on education in the last 50 years.
But according to liberal columnist Steve Sebelius, Nevada has yet to throw money into its educational system.
We can't ignore that some blame from the present crisis belongs in Carson City, where the Nevada Legislature has repeatedly failed to create an adequate tax system to fund the state's schools properly. While the Legislature did find the time in 2011 to enact modest reforms to teacher tenure (reforms that were passed with Democratic support, it should be noted), discussions about a broad-based tax system were fumbled. Teachers and the school district argue over scarce resources, yet mining companies pay a pittance while the price of gold soars, and businesses pay nothing on their gross receipts despite repeated recommendations by experts that they be taxed.Sebelius is hardly alone in claiming Nevada needs to spend more on education, even though Nevada, you know, has nearly tripled inflation-adjusted, per-pupil spending in the last 50 years.
We can do better. We can get a better tax system, we can reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. We can improve test scores. Money isn't the only factor in that success, but it cannot happen without money.
And for those about to take to their keyboards to say throwing money at the problem won't help, I ask this: Why don't we at least try it first? (Emphasis added)
Last week, an unelected, unaccountable arbitrator from California rewarded the Clark County Education Association's stall tactics and sided with the CCEA in its contract dispute with the Clark County School District. Teachers received raises, but CCSD announced it will have to lay off up to 1,000 teachers to compensate for the salary increases.
Liberal legislators, like Sen. Mo Denis and Assemblyman David Bobzien, immediately declared that lack of funding was the real problem, despite Nevada, you know, nearly tripling inflation-adjusted, per-pupil spending in the last 50 years.
Like Denis, Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, believes the real problem is that the Legislature has failed to fund education adequately.The Nevada State Education Association and the AFL-CIO are currently working on petitions to raise taxes in order to funnel more money into education, despite Nevada, you know, nearly tripling inflation-adjusted, per-pupil spending in the last 50 years.
"Clearly we have more work to do next session so that districts aren't faced with these difficult decisions that result from constrained budgets," said Bobzien, chairman of the Interim Committee on Education and the Assembly Education Committee.
And this is how you know you're a liberal. The government nearly triples inflation-adjusted spending on something, in this case, per-pupil education, and after that unaccountable spending fails, you then declare that it's time to start spending the real money!
Paul v. Paul
It's the battle of the great Pauls! Okay...perhaps one great Paul and one evil Paul (I'll let you decide which is which)...
My take on Krugman here is that he must be disingenuous when Paul talks about competition in currency and Krugman says he "has no idea what that's about." He must be disingenuous because no Nobel laureate could be that ignorant. Paul's referring to one of Nobel-laureate Hayek's most important ideas--and his proposed solution to the problem he highlighted which won him the Nobel prize to begin with!
Anyway, this segment is highly worth watching. It's the battle of the century...well, at least since these guys were around:
Sandoval joins three other governors to discuss Western lands
The meeting happened last week, and let's hope it moves from meetings to actions in the near future.
Seeking a unified front on common concerns, the governors of four Western states held discussions Friday on issues ranging from federal land control to immigration.
"The Western states need to bind together and unite their voices," said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, who hosted the talks in his state's capital city.
"We have a uniqueness that other people don't understand."
The participating governors, all Republicans, included Idaho's Butch Otter, Wyoming's Matt Mead and Nevada's Brian Sandoval, who joined the conference by phone.
The all-day gathering, which Herbert dubbed the Rocky Mountain Roundtable, focused heavily on the management of public lands by the federal government.
All of the states represented have large swaths under federal control, whether it's national forest, national parks or acreage owned by Bureau of Land Management.
How much of Nevada does the federal government own? About 85 percent.
Thomas Mitchell at 4th St8 has done a really good job covering this issue. Be sure to check it out.
Important context on CCSD's capital improvement campaign and forthcoming spin
Earlier today, CCSD trustees approved a proposal to raise taxes by $669 million over the next six years. The plan must clear a couple of more hoops and then it goes to the voters in November.
This is not a bond campaign, because the CCSD trustees are going to propose a pay-as-you-go plan. As Trustee Carolyn Edwards noted, this is a capital program campaign.
I'll address some of the arguments being used by the trustees - equity, that money is necessary for reform and letting the voters decide - in the future. For now, here's seven points of context to remember when listening to individuals talk about the need for more tax dollars.
1. There is little to no correlation between spending and student achievement, especially when it comes to spending on buildings. Despite any spin, this is not about student achievement. And if it isn't about student achievement, why does CCSD want to take $5.3 billion from taxpayers?
2. The average school building in the United States is 50 years old. The average school building in New York is 80 years old. The average school building in the Clark County School District is 22 years old.
3. Citizens and especially parents should be aware of the size of this bond. The 1998 bond brought in $4.9 billion, built 112 new schools and accommodated a 50 percent increase in school enrollment.
The total desired amount, although the board is only seeking $669 million this fall, is $5.3 billion, while the cumulative increase in student population over the next 10 years is projected to be less than five percent.
That's $4.9 billion in 1998 to accommodate a 50 percent increase in student enrollment, compared to $5.3 billion for a five percent increase in student enrollment. While inflation means those numbers aren't directly comparable, that number is a stunning extravagance.
4. Even though the school board is not asking for $5.3 billion initially, the tax rate is being set for the $5.3 billion ask in upcoming years. And as we've seen with the "temporary" tax increases at the state level, "temporary" taxes are usually permanent. Once government gets access to money, it is nearly impossible for citizens to take it back.
5. According to a CCSD presentation on the bond, $500 million would be set aside for technology.
Now, digital learning is a great tool. One of the best things about digital learning around the country is that is shows how to increase student achievement while lower costs and increasing access. Digital learning shouldn't be an excuse to spend more, however, and let's get some perspective on exactly how much $500 million is.
There are less than 350,000 students and fulltime employees in CCSD. If CCSD was to give every student and employee an iPad 2, it would only cost less than $200 million.
The $500 million figure doesn't even touch on the $475 million sought for "equipment." Combining the monies sought for technology and equipment, that's over $2.7 million for every one of CCSD's 357 schools.
CCSD is also requesting $3.425 billion for renovation and replacement. That's almost $10 million per school in a district where the average school is 22 years old.
6. Construction costs from the 1998 bond rose rapidly over the course of the bond. The first five elementary schools cost an average of $13,427.000 or $16,563,090 after adjusting for inflation. The last five elementary schools built under the bond cost an average of $24,292,000.
Like with virtually all government projects, things get more and more expensive. Imagine how expensive things will get with $5.3 billion laying around and only a five percent growth in student population.
7. Charter schools receive no capital funds. Putting a $5.3 billion slush fund into the hands of the district will further entrench the status quo, instead of spurring the accountability and reforms that only come to government agencies when there's no other option left.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal also had an excellent editorial on this issue this morning.
At today's meeting, trustees hope to have answers from staff on exactly where the money would go. The fact that the district wasn't able to provide those answers last week makes the proposal seem like a request for a blank check.At the meeting this morning, staff produced an updated listing of projects (p. 5). Listed projects totaled $1.84 billion, with $3.45 billion labeled as "Additional Unfunded Need."
Blank check, indeed.
Update (June 8, 2012): Fixed a number error.
Facts a 'disturbing' thing for teachers union member
On Sunday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published my column, Children lose when unions fight to keep poor performers in the classroom, and a blog post by Nevada Superintendent Dr. James W. Guthrie, which listed twelve empirically verified things to know about teachers.
In response, Richard Tellier, a math teacher at Burk Horizon, wrote an open letter to teachers, which the Clark County Education Association posted at its website.
Colleagues,
These are links to two articles that appeared in the Review-Journal on Sunday (4/29). The first link is to an opinion piece from NPRI. It is the same comments they have been making for the past year, that we need to get rid of "bad teachers." The second, and the one that I find much more disturbing is an essay from the new Nevada Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Guthrie, who was just appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval. Dr. Guthrie has a PHD in education.
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/children-lose-when-unions-fight-to-keep-poor-performers-in-the-classroom-149408745.html
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/a-dozen-empirically-verified-things-to-know-about-public-school-teachers-149408755.html
If there was any doubt in your mind that you could let others fight the battle for contracts and respect of educators, I hope that after reading these articles, you will change your mind. (Emphasis added)
Dr. Guthrie's article, which you should read right now, simply lists 12 statements about teachers about teachers that have been empirically verified. Those statements include "[e]conometric analyses continually confirm that an effective classroom teacher is the most powerful in-school instrument currently available to propel student academic achievement" and "[t]erminating the lowest five percent of ineffective teachers and replacing them with teachers who are only average in effectiveness would of itself elevate U.S. achievement to among the highest in the industrial world."
This list - and that's all it is, is a list of research findings -is what Tellier calls "disturbing."
Isn't that amazing? Simply pointing out things like "[t]urnover among beginning first and second year teachers is about the same as turnover among other professionals in fields requiring comparable training" is "disturbing" to some members of the education establishment.
How can you ever have a real, productive discussion on education policy if one side doesn't allow the other side to point out what's actually happening?
You can't, of course, and that's precisely the point.
The evidence in favor of substantive school reforms, accountability and educational freedom is overwhelming. The education establishment can only disingenuously claim to support reforms publicly, while working to kill them privately, and act outraged or "disturbed" when someone points out something inconvenient to its belief - as seen by the actions of union bosses - that students exist to employ adults, not that teachers are there to teach students.
As former teacher union president Al Shanker once summarized, "When school children start paying union dues, that 's when I'll start representing the interests of school children."
Since teacher quality is the most important school-controlled factor in student achievement - statement number one on Guthrie's list - it's essential to ensure that every child has an effective teacher.
And for those who oppose that? Well, that's "disturbing."
NV 12th graders struggling to pass high school exit exam which covers ... 9th grade material
How do you make Nevada's stunningly low graduation rate, which Ed Week put at 44.3 percent in 2008, even worse?
Nevada's high school exit exam, which many seniors have to retake multiple times or fail to pass at all, covers ... ninth grade material. From the Las Vegas Sun:
Nevada high school students are given six chances to pass the proficiency exam. The test is first administered in the fall of the sophomore year, twice during the junior year and three times during senior year. The standardized exam tests students on mostly ninth-grade material in reading, writing, math and science. Once a passing score is achieved in each of the four areas, a student no longer must take the exams. But by law, all students must pass the proficiencies to graduate from a Nevada high school.It breaks your heart to know that over half of Nevada's students aren't graduating from high school, but it's even worse to know that for many students that high school diploma only represents a 9th grade level of learning. (Two questions for another day: How are sophomores, juniors and seniors passing their academic classes and becoming sophomores, juniors and seniors, if they can't pass a test on ninth grade material? Why is a high school exit exam given in the tenth grade?)
This is why substantial education reforms like ending social promotion, offering educational choice for parents, putting teachers on one-year contracts and repealing collective bargaining are so important for education in general and your child in particular.
The biggest obstacles to these reforms and the improvements they would mean for your child are union bosses. Recently, Nevada State Education Association President Lynn Warne claimed that removing ineffective teachers from the classroom after three years of poor performance is a violation of those teachers' "human rights."
What garbage. No one has a "human right" to damage the education of your child. And as you can see by the level of learning in today's public schools, the damage union bosses have done through protecting bad teachers and blocking reforms is enormous, despite Nevada nearly tripling inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending in the last 50 years.
Students vs. union. Your child vs. union bosses. An effective education for your child or dues for the Nevada State Education Association.
Those are the stakes. Those are the sides.
We stand with students.
Will you stand with us?
