On 7/28/2009, CPPS sent the following letter to the Superintendent:
July 28, 2009
Re: Seattle Public Schools Negotiations 2009
Dear Dr. Goodloe-Johnson:
We are writing as parents of Seattle School District students to offer our input regarding the current negotiation process with the District’s certificated teachers. First, we want to express our appreciation for the District’s decision to post the current proposals, and to offer support for specific proposals that we agree would help move us toward the goal of quality public schools for all children. Second, we want to share our thoughts regarding contract issues that have been identified as a priority for many public school advocates as a result of the reduction-in-force process, in the hope that the District and SEA will agree that contract revisions regarding layoff criteria are necessary to support strong teachers and ensure the best possible educational experience for the greatest number of children.
We are pleased to read that the District’s most important goals for these contract negotiations are to: (1) strengthen teaching and learning so that we can ensure an excellent education for every student; and (2) promote accountability by measuring performance, so that we can ensure that all staff members are working effectively to achieve our central goal of student achievement. In reviewing the District proposals published on the web, we would like to offer our support for the following proposals, which we believe offer significant opportunities to further these goals:
- Pilot Compensation Program to reward excellent performance and student
academic achievement growth (Art. IV). - Streamline the Performance Evaluation process (Art. XI).
- Program or School Closures – Selection of Staff (Art. VII (H).
We hope you will continue to advocate for these proposals as the negotiations
continue.
In reviewing the District’s published proposals, we do not see any proposal to make changes to Article XII, Section C of the contract regarding the criteria that may be considered when determining which teachers will be impacted in a layoff. As you may know, over 1000 parents, teachers, and public school advocates recently signed a petition urging you to, in furtherance of “Excellence for All,” seek contract revisions to allow for consideration of teacher effectiveness when layoffs are necessary. When the District and teachers are being asked to “do more with less” during challenging economic times, we firmly believe that basing layoff decisions seniority alone does a significant disservice to the families who rely on the Seattle Public Schools and the teachers who work so hard to be effective. We thus urge you to work with the SEA to develop a fair performance appraisal process and to seek revisions to the layoff criteria that will allow for consideration of both length of service and teacher effectiveness.
We appreciate your consideration of this input, and hope that we can be partners in ensuring that the negotiating parties do not lose sight of the overarching priority on ensuring quality public schools for all Seattle children.
Sincerely,
Charles Rolland
President, CPPS
Board of Directors
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