How Teacher's Unions get a Bad Name

Apparently teachers union officials in Louisville know that some non-tenured, pink-slipped teachers are not performing up to par. But that's not stopping the union from fighting to keep them. This, despite the fact that the non-tenured teachers were only under a one-year contract, which the district apparently satisfied. A one-year contract is not a loophole. It's a one-year contract.

Every time unions try to protect underperforming teachers it sends the wrong messsage to the public.

This from Toni at C-J:

Teachers fight loss of contracts

A court battle is brewing between the Jefferson County Teachers Association and Superintendent Sheldon Berman over the district's decision not to renew contracts for about 20 teachers.

Union representatives are accusing Berman of using a loophole to get rid of teachers with performance problems without trying to help them improve.

Berman says he can't comment on why the teachers are being let go, but he maintains that it's his responsibility to ensure the district has the highest caliber instructors.

Three of the teachers whose contracts were not renewed are suing the district in Jefferson Circuit Court, asking a judge to void the nonrenewal notices they received late last month.

The teachers and union also are seeking an injunction preventing the district from choosing not to renew the other teachers' contracts under similar circumstances, said Everett Hoffman, the lawyer representing JCTA...

[JCTA President Brent McKim] said Berman "unfairly and inappropriately terminated" the teachers for performance reasons without allowing them to correct their deficiencies...

Berman said the district decided not to renew about 100 teachers' contracts this year, adding that there are several reasons why they might not be renewed, including performance.

"I want the highest quality teachers possible. If we have a teacher who is not tenured and not performing well, we evaluate them and may choose not to renew them at the end of the year," he said. "If someone has a one-year contract, there was never a guarantee that they would be hired back." ...