Finally, a passing grade

THE DETERMINATION that the District can afford the proposed teachers contract clears the way for the union's rank-and-file to vote. After years of torturous negotiations, the city's teachers finally will have their say. We hope there will be a good turnout by teachers, who -- after all this time of being spoken for and shouted over -- will want to soberly examine the contract's potential benefits for teachers and students alike.

D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi on Monday certified that the city has sufficient funds to pay for provisions of the five-year, $140 million contract with the Washington Teachers' Union. The determination by Mr. Gandhi -- who should be commended for his diligence in figuring out how to accommodate the unusual use of private money -- capped five weeks of uncertainty as his staff wrangled over details with Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. While the events point to a need for changes in how school finances are managed, they should not distract from what matters in this contract: its implications for the ongoing improvement of public education. Crucial to Ms. Rhee's reform efforts, it also is being watched nationwide as a possible model.

At the heart of the agreement is the recognition that teacher quality -- not seniority or other adult prerogatives -- should determine how teachers are assigned, promoted and retained. Ineffective teachers would no longer have a lock on their jobs, while educators who lift student learning would be rewarded as they deserve. There are generous pay raises for teachers, including base salary increases of 21 percent over the life of the contract; a strengthened commitment to professional development, and other benefits for teachers. Included here is a pay-for-performance program that would make D.C. teachers among the highest-paid in the nation. It is, as local union president George Parker told us, "good for kids and fair to teachers; it will move the school system forward."

It seemed in the more than two years of contract talks that teachers would never get an opportunity to weigh in. The expectation now is that balloting by some 4,000 members of the union could start next week. If ratified by the local, the contract would then go to the D.C. Council for approval. The stakes are high.