Reveille has blown! Have you heard it? Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest and loudest teachers union, has declared war on Colorado’s children, good teachers and principals, taxpayers, and especially our business community.
Fortunately for those very same groups, Senator Michael Johnston, a courageous Democrat State Senator and former high school principal, teamed up with Republican State Senator Nancy Spence to propose legislation two weeks ago that proposes fundamental, common sense reform to our K-12 education system. His bill, on which he has been working for six months, has triggered a highly publicized, hostile, angry, “Not So Fast” campaign by CEA. Why? Because it ties teacher and principal evaluation, as well as tenure, to student performance. What a concept – reward for results! How radical!
But, quite predictably, the union is opposing it, and attacking Johnston, Dwight Jones, the State’s Education Commissioner, the State Board of Education (which unanimously endorsed the bill) and virtually every Colorado educational group. It is the only large organization against this bill. But the union’s attack also zeroes in on Colorado’s business community and general citizenry. Has the teacher’s union punched us in the nose one too many times? “Not So Fast”! – Give me a break! How about “too little, too slow, for too long”?
After months of bi-partisan effort and the expenditure of many public and private dollars, Colorado’s effort to obtain Federal Race to the Top funding, which puts a premium on teacher union buy-in, continues to come up short. But reacting to the small glimmer of hope remaining, our petulant CEA has chosen to take its bat and ball, go home and sulk, jeopardizing Colorado’s application. Fortunately, the Johnston bill will fill in the missing pieces while the union chooses to be MIA.
But much more important than attracting $175 million of federal money is the future of Colorado’s kids. When half of them do not read, write, add, and subtract at grade level, and when half of African American and Hispanic ninth graders do not graduate, and when Colorado taxpayers spend more money on K-12 education each successive year, we have a serious problem, one which Johnston’s bill attempts to address.
Senator Johnston knows nothing of this letter. He likely would prefer that it not be sent, as he is more hopeful than this writer that common ground with the union can be achieved. But it is clear to me that Coloradoans, particularly our business community, are not on the same page with the teachers union, nor is there any reason to believe we will ever get there.
Why is the union so afraid of evaluation and accountability? Every other profession and business is built on competition – why isn’t public education? There are great teachers throughout our state – we applaud them and they should be rewarded for their success, not for their seniority. Doing so will inspire others to emulate them.
Because the CEA only represents about 60% of the teachers in Colorado, it should not be assumed that all teachers agree with its position. As the father of a public school principal and a member of a family that has been committed to improving public education for decades, let me be clear that my objective is, and always has been, to fight for every child in Colorado to have access to a quality education. It is not to bash anyone unless they attempt to deny children a quality teacher in every classroom. Can someone please tell the CEA that walking away from a problem won’t help solve it? Is the union the system’s most recent dropout?
It is outrageous that the CEA opposes the common sense provisions included in the Johnston bill. If the union continues to play hardball with its scorched earth campaign, Colorado’s business community should take off the gloves and fight back. Colorado’s business community has ducked, dodged, and delayed for decades, and our students, our businesses, and our families have been the victims of our inaction. Nothing less than the futures of our children, our economy, and our communities hang in the balance.
It is time for Colorado to replace this nightmare of an underperforming K-12 system with hopeful dreams filled with success, opportunity, and justice.
Steve Schuck lives in Colorado Springs. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
