Gov. Cuomo likes to boast that “99 percent” of state school districts struck teacher-evaluation deals with their unions, attributing it to funding he offered if they did. A report yesterday suggests a different reason: The deals are shams.
As The Buffalo News reported, several districts, including Buffalo, made secret side deals with their unions that render their evaluation plans toothless.
“Teachers who are subject to the new [evaluation plan] will not be negatively affected,” Buffalo Superintendent Pamela Brown promised in a letter to union boss Philip Rumore. The ratings, in other words, are meaningless — except insofar as they help Buffalo snag extra cash from Albany.
State officials say they didn’t know about that side deal when they OK’d Buffalo’s plan and that, if it isn’t scrapped, the district might lose state aid.
Fine. But if Buffalo tried to game the system once, who’s to say it won’t do so again — and maybe get away with it next time? Meanwhile, how many other districts have similar secret deals, sealed perhaps on nods and winks?
We’ve long argued that unions aren’t in the business of making it easier to dismiss teachers. For that reason, we doubted that most unions would agree to any plan that truly placed bad teachers at risk. Seems we were right — never mind Cuomo’s claim.
For years, reformers have been demanding tools to hold teachers accountable. Yet few teachers face serious consequences, even as most kids leave their schools woefully unprepared.
Until bad teachers can be let go in meaningful numbers, it’s wise to remain skeptical of a “deal” in any district, let alone 99 percent of them.