D.C. Teachers Left Behind

Union intransigence could cause them to miss out on Michelle Rhee's win-win reform plan.

WITH CONTRACT talks apparently going nowhere, D.C. teachers ought to be asking whose interests their union leaders are tending to at the bargaining table. They certainly aren't defending those of the system's many dedicated and qualified teachers, who apparently won't even get the chance to consider a bold pay plan that would net many of them six-figure salaries.

After negotiating to no avail for more than a year with the Washington Teachers' Union, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced that she -- and the students she wants to help -- can't wait any longer. Ms. Rhee yesterday unveiled a series of initiatives to weed out ineffective teachers and ensure that every classroom has a high-quality teacher. Included is a new performance evaluation system based primarily on student achievement as well as the aggressive use of existing legal provisions to get rid of poor performers, regardless of tenure or seniority.

Ms. Rhee had hoped to make the union a partner in her efforts to upgrade the quality of teachers, and, in return, she was offering millions of dollars to raise teacher salaries and provide other support. The two-tier salary system proposed by Ms. Rhee would require teachers seeking the top pay levels to go on probation for a year; apparently union leaders found that unpalatable. Yet Ms. Rhee was offering teachers a choice: No one would be forced to give up tenure, and those opting for the lower pay level would still get -- another fact overlooked -- a 28 percent salary boost over five years, plus $10,000 in bonuses.

The refusal of union leaders to allow teachers to vote on this proposal jeopardizes the $200 million Ms. Rhee has raised from private foundations willing to pay for the first five years of her plan. Ms. Rhee made clear that these foundations have no interest in funding contracts that perpetuate a failed compensation system in which teachers are protected and promoted without regard to their impact on student learning. The loss of this money would mean that any contract would have to be funded with city money. It should be obvious, given the shaky economic times and a $131 million budget shortfall for next year, that there will be little -- if any -- money to fund teacher raises, not to mention new programs to buttress teacher development.

That is the real shame, because, as Ms. Rhee stressed, there are many D.C. teachers who "day in and day out" do heroic work. Under Ms. Rhee's plan, they would have a chance at salaries over $130,000, among the highest in the nation. Instead, these teachers -- who dip into their own pockets to pay for school supplies, who take work home every night, who hand out their cell-phone numbers so students can get help at any hour -- are told to trust the judgment of a union whose biggest claim to fame is the infamy of its past leaders using millions in union dues for designer clothes and other personal luxuries.

Technically, Ms. Rhee's offer is still on the table, and she's made clear she's open to talks. It's time for teachers who have confidence in their students and in themselves to find their voice and speak out.