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| Threaten to kill a high school principal...; ...get a six-figure severance | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 9 2011, 07:17 PM (496 Views) | |
| LPS Reformer | May 9 2011, 07:17 PM Post #1 |
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The schools exist to educate, not employ.
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May 6, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ben Velderman, project manager (231) 733-4202, ben@edactiongroup.org Teacher tenure in Michigan: Threaten to kill a high school principal, receive a six-figure severance Torturous tenure process makes cash-strapped schools eager to settle MUSKEGON – Let the following be Exhibit A in the case of how teacher tenure is a destructive force in Michigan’s public education system: Today’s Jackson Citizen Patriot reports, “A former Stockbridge High School teacher accused of threatening to kill the principal signed a severance agreement that will cost Stockbridge Community Schools about $135,000.” Firing a tenured teacher in Michigan is a long, drawn-out process, so the school district (which is facing a $6.5 million budget deficit) decided it was easier and cheaper to write the teacher a six-figure check than it was to jump through all the legal hoops associated with the tenure termination process. Firing a tenured teacher can take at least six months and cost a $75,000 in legal fees for the district, according to the newspaper. We know from reviewing other cases that it can take even longer and cost a lot more. Granted, the case of the teacher who allegedly threatened to “off” herself and the school principal is an exotic example of tenure-gone-wild. A much more common example of tenure’s damaging effects came in last week’s education reform address by Gov. Rick Snyder. In his address, the governor said that “238 Michigan high schools have zero college-ready students in all subjects based on the spring 2010 ACT test.” Shouldn’t the administrators of failing schools be handing out pink slips to every ineffective teacher on staff? Taxpayers must be wondering why no one is held accountable for such dismal results. The answer: tenure. “Getting rid of an ineffective tenured teacher is a torturous process, and it keeps many ineffective teachers in the classroom,” said Kyle Olson, CEO of Education Action Group. “Tenure isn’t solely responsible for the sorry state of public education in Michigan, but it has certainly contributed to the problem. Our public schools will not improve until administrators are able to easily remove ineffective –and occasionally dangerous—teachers from the classroom without months of litigation and tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses.” Edited by Moderator1, May 10 2011, 11:05 AM.
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“Child Abuse” means different things to different people.... ----Randy Liepa 8/9/12 | |
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| Momof4 | May 9 2011, 09:56 PM Post #2 |
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Veteran
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This is a perfect example of how tenure ruins the teaching profession's reputation. If a student were to threaten another student like that, they would be suspended. Would they be rewarded all A's for the classes they missed? In the private sector, you do something to warrant being fired, you are fired. Ridiculous. |
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