Teacher Contract Database: Resource or Ridiculous?
by Christine Stuart | Jun 20, 2012 4:00pm
(9) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Education, State Capitol
It was a gigantic undertaking, but the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now believes its new teacher contract database will help “decision makers as well as taxpayers” better understand how teachers across the state are being compensated.
The database unveiled Wednesday includes information about 173 of the 174 collective bargaining contracts for public, regional, and vocational schools.
It also includes the contracts for three of the 22 charter schools. Most charter schools don’t have collective bargaining contracts, but ConnCAN CEO Patrick Riccards said Wednesday he wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to putting up the salary schedules or work rules for the teachers in non-unionized charter schools.
“It just wouldn’t be an apples to apples comparison,” he said. “But that’s something we would consider.”
Their failure to include the information caused one of the two teacher unions to cry foul.
“If the stated purpose is ‘to have as much information as possible’, ConnCAN should have included data from charters whether there is a contract or not,” Sharon Palmer, president of AFT Connecticut, said.
She called the database “selective” and said “ConnCAN appears to have a secondary agenda beyond disclosure, particularly when they have not disclosed data for their own network of charter schools.”
The state’s teacher unions and charter school proponents butted heads during the recent legislative session over charter enrollment policies. The unions argued charter schools “cherry pick” their students and cited a recent study by the independent Government Accountability Office that showed charter schools continue to enroll fewer disabled students than public schools.
The creation of the database seemed to resurrect the argument, which was partially resolved during the legislative session. Under the new education reform law any new charter schools will be required to enroll a larger population of disabled and English Language Learners.
By putting all the data about the number of students per classroom, average salary, and required teacher prep time in one location it helps answer the call for transparency, Riccards said.
“As education reform continues to move forward in Connecticut, it is essential that all stakeholders have as much information as possible so we can make the best decisions for our children,” he added.
The website also allows users to compare the contracts of up to four different districts to see how they match up against each other. For example, a comparison of Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport shows many similarities when it comes to the length of the school year and average number of students per classroom, but of the three only New Haven teachers have evaluation language written into their contracts.
“It allows us to look at what teachers are getting and frankly what they’re not getting,” Riccards said.
For instance, when it comes to seniority-based layoffs in Hartford the last four numbers of a teacher’s Social Security number are used as the tiebreaker. In Bristol there are seven tie-breaking provisions for seniority-based layoffs, including the date that the most recent application for employment was stamped. In Stamford it’s a teacher’s birthday. Only two districts do not include reduction in force provisions in the teacher contract: Old Saybrook and Rocky Hill.
The data also shows that the average number of years to reach the top salary level (regardless of degree status or performance) is 14 and that 36 percent of the districts froze step increases this year.
Riccards said his organization has been working on the database for more than a year now and were inspired by a 2007 National Center for Teacher Quality (NCTQ) effort creating a national teacher contract database for select cities, including New Haven and Hartford.
But Palmer suggested that “instead of releasing information which is already publicly available, we need to focus on the larger issue of funding.”
“The charter schools ConnCAN represent received huge increases in ongoing education funding while public school systems received smaller increases that are only good for the next school year,“ Palmer said. “Despite those small increases, many school districts are facing budget shortfalls and are having to layoff teachers. Connecticut needs to fix its revenue system and properly fund public education.”
Under the new education reform law charter school funding will increase from $9,400 to $11.500 per student over the next three years. The increase amounts to about $8.1 million in state funds. The same bill increased Education Cost Sharing funds for public school students by $50 million.
Charter school advocates have long argued they’re the ones that are underfunded.
Tags: charter schools, teacher contract database, ConnCAN, education reform, teacher evaluations
(9) Comments
posted by: CONconn | June 20, 2012 4:22pm
Pat Riccards is at it again. He printed up thousands of shirts that said “charter schools are public schools”. Now he says it wouldn’t be apples to apples to make comparisons. How do you like them apples?
posted by: Noteworthy | June 20, 2012 5:15pm
ConnCAN should be renamed to Riccards’ Racket. He now stunts again with missing information. His big oops moment is about as welcome as a skunk at a wedding. This is supposed to be a knowledge enhancing database right? Oh, that’s right, just enhance our knowledge about some folks but not THE FOLKS. While The Racket is busy enhancing our knowledge database, perhaps Rickards could release a detailed analysis of the overhead and expenses relating to the faux education reform legislation he pushed so hard for as well as a list of all the employees, lobbyists and inter-connectivity between ConnCAN and Achievement First and any other entity as well as the source(s) of all that special interest funding.
posted by: Linda12 | June 20, 2012 5:37pm
This is already public information. Riccards is a fraud. Hey, Patrick…Can you create a data base for the salaries of Charter school directors as compared to their staff?
Charter management CEO’s and their staff? Achievement First…how much goes directly to students and their teachers vs. bloated administrative fees?
Charter school and charter management consultant salaries? ConnCan salaries including his own?
Patrick, can that be your next philanthropic donation to education reform?
Don’t stop here…..shine the light everywhere!
posted by: Linda12 | June 20, 2012 5:39pm
Do you want to know the real purpose of this information?
We need to be clear about something. This move against the public schools and teachers’ unions is being orchestrated not by educational reformers interested in improving our schools, but by greedy entrepreneurs looking to privatize the whole shebang. The prospect of having millions of kids leave the public schools and enroll in privates or for-profit charters represents a potential gold mine.
So the next time a person tries to tell you that it’s the unions who are responsible for the problems our public schools are facing, take a moment to set them straight. Make it clear to them that this whole “union teacher vs. non-union teacher” dichotomy is a hoax. It’s a con game. Put it to them in the simplest possible terms. We’re being played for suckers.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/06/20-1
posted by: Speak up | June 20, 2012 5:41pm
Hey, Pat
This is the perfect forum for your acceptance speech for your award…....
The “If Bernie Madoff Worked in School Finance” Award went to the advocacy group ConnCAN for proposing a financial reform package that would be a reverse Robin Hood: Steal from the poor and give to the rich.
http://dianeravitch.net/category/conncan/
posted by: Speak up | June 20, 2012 6:26pm
Why stop there? Have you looked into the adminstrator’s bargaining unit? That also varies district to district. Compare Superintendent and Principal salaries. Some supers have gas/car allowances, some don’t. Some get sick day pay when the leave. Teachers do not. Keep it up…don’t stop at the lowly teacher.
If you are worried about the misuse of money and the taxpayers, can you look into town by town and city by city:
Police contracts
Firemen
City town workers
Mayors and first selectman
Shine the light everywhere, Mr. Riccards
posted by: Speak up | June 20, 2012 7:05pm
Not a charter school and unionized teachers:
She became emotional Tuesday as she sought a way to express her gratitude. Young said students don’t appreciate teachers enough. “They’re underestimated—especially in New Haven and especially at Hillhouse.”
Of all the help she’s had along the way, she said, “my teachers have had the most significant impact on my life.”
“It was my teachers that raised me and pushed me,” she said. “They saw something that I didn’t see.”
From the stage at the Field House, she issued a public thanks to her mom, to Carolina, and to all of the teachers who helped her along the way—including veteran math teacher Fred Redeaux.
Then she turned to the students before her.
“Keep on pushing,” she urged. “I have faith in y’all.”
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/hillhouse_graduation/
posted by: saramerica | June 21, 2012 8:41am
A public school property in New Haven is being sold to Achievement First for a new Amistad High School which will give no neighborhood preference.