Idaho Values Alliance

House Education chairman Bob Nonini (below right) introduced two bills yesterday that, if passed, will be good for Idaho’s school-age children and their parents and will make education more nimble in Idaho.

One bill would eliminate teacher contracts of more than one year, which will give school principals greater freedom to select staff who can get the job done in the classroom. Rolling contracts, of the kind used by Boise and Meridian school districts, tie the hands of principals and force them, in some cases, to employ teachers who are simply not hitting the mark in delivery of content.

One of the quickest ways to improve education in Idaho is to give principals the authority they need to put their best team on the field.

The other bill would allow school districts to reduce salaries or contract days, which is essential to give districts the flexibility they need to weather economic downturns, and which, by the way, would save jobs in the process. (The only other alternative would be to fire enough teachers to close the gap between revenue and expenses.)

House Speaker Lawerence Denney is a co-sponsor of the bills, as is Senate pro-tem Bob Geddes, and State Superintendent Tom Luna supports the bill.

One of the surest indicators the bill is on the mark is that it has already met fierce opposition from the Idaho Education Association, which frankly seems to care more about teachers than education, and probably should, for the sake of accuracy, be called the Idaho Teachers Association.

But the purpose of our public school system is student education, not teacher security. If we put the educational needs of students at the top of our priority list, then ending tenure for teachers is a good move.

The Statesman’s headline is illuminating, since it just as easily could have read, “House Education Committee moves forward with plans to improve quality of classroom teachers.” Instead, the chosen phrase is “targeting teacher contracts,” which turns Bob Nonini into a conscienceless big game hunter and creates sympathy for underperforming teachers by turning them into innocent, unsuspecting prey.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.