When layoffs come to L.A. schools, performance doesn't count

[Frank Booth]

John H. Liechty Middle School opened in 2007 in Los Angeles' impoverished Westlake neighborhood with a seasoned principal, dozens of energetic young teachers and a mission to "reinvent education" in the nation's second-largest school district.

The students had come from some of the lowest-performing schools in the city. But by the end of the first year, their scores on standardized tests showed the most improvement in English among district middle schools and exceptional growth in math, according to a Times analysis.

....

But when budget cuts came in the summer of 2009 — at the end of the school's second year — more than half of the teachers were laid off. Among those dismissed were Gascon and 16 others who ranked in the top fifth of district middle school instructors in boosting test scores, The Times' analysis found. Many were replaced by a parade of less effective teachers, including many short-term substitutes.

....

Quality-blind layoffs are just one vestige of seniority rules introduced decades ago to promote fairness and protect teachers from capricious administrators. Enshrined in state law and detailed in teachers' union contracts, the prerogatives of seniority continue to guide many of the key personnel decisions made in public schools across the country, including pay and assignments. The effects are most keenly felt by students during layoffs.

Read more: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/04/local/la-me-1205-teachers-seniority-20101204

[Possumpoint]

1. Once More

Concessions made to unions years ago raise their ugly heads to bite progress in the ass. There was reason and meaning to unionization of years ago. However, when it is used as smoke and mirrors to protect incompetence or mediocrity it is inexcusable. That in itself is the reason so many oppose unionization.