History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Absent teachers reserve 'crisis' created by Klein, Bloomberg, union
- 12-08-2010
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Guest blog by Marc Epstein/Washington Post
When there is evidence of bad public policy, you can safely assume that it took two parties working collaboratively to create the swamp. New York's Department of Education and the teachers' union have found themselves mired down in a dispute over the fates of more than a thousand teachers, many of whom have no assigned teaching position, but continue to collect full-time salaries. This group of teachers is collectively referred to as ATR's, or the absent teacher reserve. Large numbers of ATR's are not instructing students in their licensed areas. Instead they often find themselves working as substitute teachers. At various times these teachers have been labeled incompetent or too lazy to seek positions by Joel Klein, [the soon to be ex-chancellor]. He wants to fire them. To judge from his statements and newspaper editorials, we are simply facing a case of old time union featherbedding. If the problem isn't resolved over the next few weeks Cathie Black will inherit this mess [when she becomes schools chancellor], and all her public statements to date indicate that she has bought Joel Klein's narrative hook, line, and sinker. (more…)
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