KCTCS ends tenure for new faculty

This from H-L:

VERSAILLES — The governing board of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System voted just before noon Friday to eliminate tenure for new faculty members in the system.

Tenured teachers already on staff at the system's 16 community and technical colleges will not be affected.

Faculty members from a number of community colleges turned out to oppose the move, some carrying signs saying "Keep Tenure." Board of Regents chairman Richard Bean warned them at one point that anyone who stood or held their signs above eye level would be removed from the meeting room...

Community college tenure could be ditched under new proposal

Ryan Alessi's move to the Higher Ed beat has produced an immediate jump in quality stories about our colleges. Great move by H-L. Meanwhile P-12 coverage remains uninspired.

This from Ryan at H-L:

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System's board of regents has launched a spirited debate over potentially abandoning the tenure system for future faculty members.

At their meeting Thursday and Friday, the regents are giving a first public airing of the idea of hiring new professors with contracts of up to four years, rather than the tenure track that essentially establishes faculty members for life.

The board can't approve such a move this month because it is up for discussion only and couldn't be acted upon until its March meeting at the earliest, said KCTCS spokeswoman Terri Giltner.

But it is an idea that is being floated as an option to help the system handle "rapid shifts in the job market, emerging new job markets, and state budget cuts which underscored the need for flexibility," according to the board of regents' documents attached to its meeting agenda.

The idea is being met with opposition by the system's faculty members, who worry that ditching the tenure system could hinder KCTCS's chances of attracting top-flight professors to many of its campuses...

Fighting the Big Blue Dragon

This from the Chronicle of Higher Ed:

The Tenure Lawsuit of a Lifetime

Joseph M. Hayse's three-decade quest for tenure is littered with bodies. It has outlived the careers of most of the people involved — and several of the people themselves.

In 1979, Mr. Hayse filed a lawsuit against the University of Kentucky that has turned into a legal Ping-Pong match anecdotally described as the longest-running court battle in the Bluegrass State, and perhaps the lengthiest tenure dispute in the country.

On paper, at least, Mr. Hayse, 71, has won favorable court rulings from the state's circuit, appeals, and supreme courts. But he has not won tenure, and his suit lingers on. So does his anger at the university.

"I just hate to let them off the hook," says Mr. Hayse, who retired in 1999 after nearly 21 years in a state-government job.

His wife is angry, too. "It ruined his career," she says. "It's not that we can't survive, but I always thought ... he couldn't fulfill his whole potential."

"I think they're going to keep going at it and going at it until he dies," she continues.

"I know the university is a big body. It's like fighting a monster; a big dragon."...

HT 2 Jake.

Rhee Seeks Tenure-Pay Swap for Teachers

This from the Washington Post:

Giving Up Seniority Would Boost Salary If Benchmarks Met

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is proposing a contract that would give mid-level teachers who are paid $62,000 yearly the opportunity to earn more than $100,000 -- but they would have to give up seniority and tenure rights, two union members familiar with the negotiations said yesterday.

Under the proposal, the school system would establish two pay tiers, red and green, said the union members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Teachers in the red tier would receive traditional raises and would maintain tenure. Those who voluntarily go into the green tier would receive thousands of dollars in bonuses and raises, funded with foundation grants, for relinquishing tenure.

Teachers in the green tier would be reviewed yearly and would be allowed to continue in their jobs only if they passed an evaluation and boosted students' test scores, the union members said.

Under Rhee's proposal, raises to the green tier would be more than the 19 percent increase over five years she is proposing for all teachers, the union members said.

They said teachers are opposed to giving up seniority and tenure, no matter the size of their raise, and probably would reject such a proposal.

"You may be trading off your future, your tenure, your job security," a union member said. "When you trade that, it seems to me you're not getting much."

Rhee, who declined to comment yesterday because of the ongoing negotiations, has said she wants a contract that would "revolutionize education as we know it." She also has said she wants to improve instruction by ensuring that the District "has the most highly compensated and competent" teachers in the country....