Dec
18
Written by:
Peter Spadafore
Friday, December 18, 2009 9:27 AM
WE HAVE A DEAL...maybe. According to sources inside the Capitol a deal has been reached on Race to the Top. There's potential for votes in both chambers today, so we may have a holiday break after all. Negotiations continued long after the Capitol emptied out. Read on for the tentative details.
After the lobbies cleared and most of the legislators went home for the night, reports indicate that intense negotiations continued among the key players in the Race to the Top debate.
According to the subscription only MIRS newsletter, a deal was reached around 4AM that includes provisions detailed below;
“The state will allow an additional 30-some additional charter schools (including "a couple" Internet-based "cyber-schools") based on different classifications, allow schools to terminate ineffective teachers regardless of tenure and create a merit pay system for effective teachers.”
Included in the deal was an agreement to raise the drop out age to 18 for this year’s sixth graders. Recall that MASB has supported this initiative for many years.
Additionally, the state superintendent would be allowed to create, “turnaround schools” out of the state’s perennially underachieving schools. This could include hiring a chief academic officer to implement new curriculum. This mirrors the financial takeover model with which we’re all familiar.
A new conference committee has been scheduled for 11:00AM today and both chambers are back to vote at 1:30PM. There’s potential that this legislation could be on its way to the governor’s desk this afternoon, but I’m not holding my breath.
Speaking of…the governor is expected to sign the work place smoking ban sometime today, so I guess that's good, it makes it easier for me not to hold my breath…but I digress.
As negotiations continue we’ll try to send out the actual details – the abovementioned deal has not been officially confirmed except through media reports and text message.
- Peter Spadafore, MASB
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: In the wee hours of morning…
Peter,
Do you know any specifics regarding a schools ability to terminate ineffective teachers? If not, do you believe they will spell out in the legislation what the criteria for being "ineffective" is? I like the idea but I'm very concerned that if the legislation does not spell out the criteria for being ineffective and/or establish a time line or sequence of events that must occur before the termination... we will be in the same boat we're already in. If you could expand at all I would appreciate it.
Thanks
By John Q Boardmember on
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 3:42 PM
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