Snuffing pilot schools

New York Times
April 27, 2005

     THE BOSTON Teachers Union is breaking a bond with parents and students across the city by sabotaging the creation of innovative "pilot schools" that encourage teamwork among teachers and administrators while putting the needs of students above both. Such attacks on school choice estrange the parents of Boston students and encourage the indifference of families who currently avoid the city's schools.

      Flexibility is essential to school reform. The independent charter school movement is growing because it offers options such as a longer school day, freedom from bureaucracy, and the ability to stretch school budgets in creative ways. The BTU wisely recognized the challenge in 1994 and negotiated the creation of pilot schools that mirror the charter school movement. The union's president, Richard Stutman, approved four new pilot schools shortly after his election in 2003. But he vetoed a similar effort last year at the Gardner elementary school in Allston, defying the wishes of his own union members who had voted to organize as a pilot school. Now Stutman is insisting that the School Department pay teachers in pilot schools for extra time beyond the traditional 6.5-hour school day.

      Stutman seems within reason for demanding that his members be ''adequately and fairly compensated," but the demand ignores history and would likely freeze the number of pilot schools at the current 19. Pilot schools reflect an established deal between teachers and administrators. Teachers expect a greater say in how and what they teach. Administrators expect that teachers won't be watching the clock or citing work rules when the need for extra duties arise.

      At some pilot schools, teachers are compensated for the extra hours. Other pilot schools might use available funds to enhance the curriculum. The players know the rules and risks going in. What's more, the creation of a pilot school requires a two-thirds vote of the faculty, a high bar. Teachers who don't like the system are free to transfer. Pilot schools represent real choice not only for students, but for teachers, too.

      Mayor Menino is so angry that he even threatens to help lift the cap on charter schools, a bold stand given that his School Department loses $9,000 for each Boston child who attends a charter school. Menino is leaving no doubt about how hard he is willing to push back against the teachers union to advance pilot schools, and why.

      ''Ask me about the kids first," he says. Pilot schools represent the best that public education has to offer in Boston. The teachers union must recognize that in the long run, its members will best serve themselves by giving Boston's students their best.