Posted on Fri, May 20, 2011 : 5:15 p.m.
State lawmakers looking for ways to make teacher tenure process shorter, cheaper
By Kyle Feldscher
State lawmakers are attempting to find a way to reform tenure, saying that it takes too long to fire bad teachers and is too expensive, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.
Teachers with tenure often take up to nine months to be officially fired, the report states. Estimates from one school official put the cost of legal fees, salary and staff time could be as high as about $200,000.
Supporters of the current teacher tenure process say that it's a fair exercise of due process to which every employee should be entitled.
Read the full Free Press report here.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
InsideTheHall
Sun, May 22, 2011 : 11:41 a.m.
Tenure is an extension of the seniority system that is outdated and part of our past industrial age.
elise
Sun, May 22, 2011 : 1:51 a.m.
If an administrator is doing his/her job a substandard teacher would never be tenured and taxpayers wouldn't have to worry about their money being "wasted". An administrator has four years to evaluate a new teacher. During that time they are supposed to observe, offer guidance to improve, and release the teacher if he/she is not performing up to standard. If an administrator doesn't do this, the teacher is then granted tenure based on the administrator's recommendation. The tenure process works when the administrator is doing his/her job well.
snapshot
Sat, May 21, 2011 : 4:32 a.m.
sh1, I think you're missing the point. The point is; why should the taxpayers pay up to 200,000 dollars to fire a teacher? Tenure is unecessary if you're doing your job. What purpose does tenure serve in your opinion?
sh1
Sat, May 21, 2011 : 1:25 p.m.
I'm just thinking about the "To-Do" list of our legislators and wondering why something like this is at the top.
alan
Fri, May 20, 2011 : 11:22 p.m.
AA.com now deletes Shakespeare references?
sh1
Fri, May 20, 2011 : 10:18 p.m.
Forty-seven out of over 100,000 teachers in Michigan go through the tenure process each year. Is this really a reform that needs immediate attention, or is the bandwagon against teachers just too hard to resist?