Teachers Gird For Assembly
Local Educators ‘Get The Word Out’ About Move To End Continuing Contracts
Posted: October 13, 2012
HARRISONBURG — Local teachers are fighting against a recycled piece of legislation that they say will rob new teachers of job security and likely deter people from entering the field at all.
When the General Assembly convenes for the 2013 session on Jan. 9, teachers say they expect to see several proposed bills that will harm education, but none as threatening as one that would eliminate continuing contracts, similar to tenure.
But supporters of the legislation, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, argue that eliminating continuing contracts would give school divisions the needed ability to rid themselves of ineffective teachers.
Area education association leaders, encouraged by the Virginia Education Association, say they will put an emphasis in the coming months on informing teachers about that bill and other legislative issues. The process began this week in Rockingham County Schools.
“It’s important to get the word out about this legislative issue because it’s going to impact education’s future and teachers’ future,” Rockingham County Education Association President Carole Barber said.
On Thursday, the county association started a new program that invited teachers to four schools — Turner Ashby, East Rockingham and Spotswood high schools and J. Frank Hillyard Middle School — to receive information about continuing contracts. Barber said she was satisfied with the 15-person turnout for the meetings.
Other educational meetings addressing a range of legislative issues that could affect teachers are expected in both the city and the county. Harrisonburg Education Association President Virginia Healy said discussing teacher tenure is the first step.
“[The VEA] really want[s] to see if we can gain some support from local school boards and other community organizers to show the General Assembly that there really is support for continuing contract[s] and that it doesn’t need to be changed,” Healy said.
Teachers in Virginia are now awarded a continuing contract after a three-year probationary period.
The bill to eliminate the contracts, carried in the House last year by Del. Richard “Dickie” Bell, R-Staunton, and in the Senate by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, would have extended the probationary period to five years, and instead made teachers, assistant principals and principals eligible for three-year contracts.
The legislation was part of McDonnell’s K-through-12 agenda in 2012 and had the overwhelming support of Republican legislators. The bill cleared the House — where all the central Valley’s lawmakers voted in support of the measure — and died in the Senate.
On a 23-17 vote, senators voted to send the bill back to the Senate Education and Health Committee for review in the 2013 session.
If passed, the bill would have affected only teachers and administrators who had not received a continuing contract before the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.
Proponents of continuing contracts say they ensure job security for teachers, and Barber dismissed the claim that they made it more difficult — and expensive — to dismiss ineffective teachers.
“For some reason, legislators think that school systems cannot dismiss ineffective teachers, which is not true at all,” she said. “There is a very good and workable teacher evaluation system. … Teachers who are ineffective can be dismissed and in our system are dismissed.”
Barber also said she thought the law would deter people from entering the teaching field, a charge Healy previously said was one of her main problems with the legislation.
“If you take away the continuing contract for new hires, we’re liable to be seeing a teacher shortage in the very near future,” Barber said.
The next scheduled meeting hosted by the Rockingham County Education Association is Nov. 28. Healy said meetings in the city would likely start before mid-December.
“[It’s important that] when it is time to write letters and sign resolutions and talk to our legislators that we’re ready,” Barber said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com
When the General Assembly convenes for the 2013 session on Jan. 9, teachers say they expect to see several proposed bills that will harm education, but none as threatening as one that would eliminate continuing contracts, similar to tenure.
But supporters of the legislation, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, argue that eliminating continuing contracts would give school divisions the needed ability to rid themselves of ineffective teachers.
Area education association leaders, encouraged by the Virginia Education Association, say they will put an emphasis in the coming months on informing teachers about that bill and other legislative issues. The process began this week in Rockingham County Schools.
“It’s important to get the word out about this legislative issue because it’s going to impact education’s future and teachers’ future,” Rockingham County Education Association President Carole Barber said.
On Thursday, the county association started a new program that invited teachers to four schools — Turner Ashby, East Rockingham and Spotswood high schools and J. Frank Hillyard Middle School — to receive information about continuing contracts. Barber said she was satisfied with the 15-person turnout for the meetings.
Other educational meetings addressing a range of legislative issues that could affect teachers are expected in both the city and the county. Harrisonburg Education Association President Virginia Healy said discussing teacher tenure is the first step.
“[The VEA] really want[s] to see if we can gain some support from local school boards and other community organizers to show the General Assembly that there really is support for continuing contract[s] and that it doesn’t need to be changed,” Healy said.
Teachers in Virginia are now awarded a continuing contract after a three-year probationary period.
The bill to eliminate the contracts, carried in the House last year by Del. Richard “Dickie” Bell, R-Staunton, and in the Senate by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, would have extended the probationary period to five years, and instead made teachers, assistant principals and principals eligible for three-year contracts.
The legislation was part of McDonnell’s K-through-12 agenda in 2012 and had the overwhelming support of Republican legislators. The bill cleared the House — where all the central Valley’s lawmakers voted in support of the measure — and died in the Senate.
On a 23-17 vote, senators voted to send the bill back to the Senate Education and Health Committee for review in the 2013 session.
If passed, the bill would have affected only teachers and administrators who had not received a continuing contract before the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.
Proponents of continuing contracts say they ensure job security for teachers, and Barber dismissed the claim that they made it more difficult — and expensive — to dismiss ineffective teachers.
“For some reason, legislators think that school systems cannot dismiss ineffective teachers, which is not true at all,” she said. “There is a very good and workable teacher evaluation system. … Teachers who are ineffective can be dismissed and in our system are dismissed.”
Barber also said she thought the law would deter people from entering the teaching field, a charge Healy previously said was one of her main problems with the legislation.
“If you take away the continuing contract for new hires, we’re liable to be seeing a teacher shortage in the very near future,” Barber said.
The next scheduled meeting hosted by the Rockingham County Education Association is Nov. 28. Healy said meetings in the city would likely start before mid-December.
“[It’s important that] when it is time to write letters and sign resolutions and talk to our legislators that we’re ready,” Barber said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com