BRITANNY PICKENS
Staff Writer
Proposition 74 includes lengthening teachers’ probationary periods from two years to five years and modifying the dismissal process.
Those in support of Prop. 74 said they think it will provide schools with the best teachers and save money and time on dismissing those who are under-qualified.
Opponents argue that Prop. 74 will drive teachers away from the profession and divert money from the schools’ real problems.
During the probationary period, teachers are evaluated at least once a year and can be dismissed without employees challenging the school’s decision. At the end of the period, teachers are considered tenured or permanent employees and are evaluated at least once every two years. If they receive an unsatisfactory evaluation, teachers are entitled to annual assessments until they show progress or they are dismissed.
Tenure laws were created to give teachers a sense of security. Education experts say this “security” allows some teachers to become incompetent.
“Tenure laws sometimes end up protecting poor teachers who should not be allowed to continue in the education profession, negatively affecting the lives of hundreds of students,” said Betty Glass, who was a principal at several elementary schools, including Juan Cabrillo in Malibu, before becoming a professor at Pepperdine.
Supporters of Prop. 74 said that lengthening the probationary period is critical because once a teacher becomes a permanent employee, it is nearly impossible and extremely expensive to dismiss them. It diverts their money out of the classroom to teacher’s salaries, according to Glass. Prop. 74 would also modify the dismissal process by abolishing the 90-day period of improvement and the right to a hearing, thus decreasing the amount of documentation needed. It would attempt to shorten the dismissal process and redirect focus on the evaluation process.
Glass disagrees with modifying the dismissal process and strongly believes in the need for detailed documentation.
“Teachers deserve to hear specific reasons for being dismissed and time to improve. If a teacher isn’t living up to expectations, administration should document specifically what that teacher did or said along with their evaluations,” she said.
Opponents of Prop. 74, like Melinda Tolmie, who has been teaching at Lincoln High School in Stockton, California for 18 years, said that the proposition will divert tens of millions out of the classroom to be used for administrative expenses.
There are other contributing factors in California’s education problem, specifically a shortage of teachers.
“It is challenging enough to recruit top academic graduates because teachers have low incomes and a great deal of expense in the first five years,” Tolmie pointed out. Opponents of Prop. 74 say that if passed, the measure will further discourage those intending to become teachers and make recruitment for positions more challenging.
Opponents argue that Prop. 74 will allow a principal to fire a teacher without giving a reason or hearing. Some call it the “Blame Teachers’ Act” because it holds teachers accountable for the schools’ problems instead of addressing the real problems.
11-03-2005