That awaits the arrival of Union bosses. Teacher’s Union bosses in particular get put to the bottom of the hierarchy in that special spot.
Washington state lost out on $13.2 million in new funding to help turn B students into A students. Blame belongs at the door of the teachers union.
The National Math and Science Initiative would have funded efforts at a handful of high schools to increase the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses in math, science and English.Two Seattle high schools, Franklin and West Seattle, would have received $114,000 the first year, with more money from the grant in later years.
But here’s where the road turned rocky. Grant makers wanted to pay the teachers directly, an appropriate way of maintaining accountability and paying for a job well done. But the Seattle Education Association smelled merit pay. The horror!
The union could have overcome its general opposition to merit pay to accept the grant. Steve Pulkkinen, the union’s negotiator over the grant, says teachers could have requested such a waiver but didn’t. According to Seattle School District officials, Franklin teachers did. And so the finger-pointing goes.
Remember this story for the next time someone lies to you and says that the unions care about student learning.