Connecticut's Governor, Dannell P. Malloy, decided to take on the thorny problem of improving the State's public schools. Malloy seems to operate with a very shallow knowledge base, and makes pronouncements and decisions that reflect his lack of understanding of an issue. Once having taken a position, the Governor finds it very difficult, if not impossible, to allow for any compromise or modification. In no instance has this been more true than in the current debate over education 'reform'
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Malloy has managed to alienate teachers with his remark about tenure: "the only thing you have to do is show up for four years" . His proposal to make eliminate permanent tenure and replace it with a scheme of renewable certification tied to a questionable evaluation procedure has galvanized teachers into opposition.
Other aspects of Malloy's proposal would create a network of underperforming schools which would then operate directly under the authority of the State Commissioner of Education,Stefan Pryor , who, incidentally, has never taught a day in his life. Charter schools would also get a big boost under Malloy's plan, with local public school districts being required to contribute $1000 for each child in their town attending a charter school.
Three weeks ago the State Legislature's Education Committee significantly revised Malloy's original bill, and talks have been ongoing between Committee members and Malloy's representatives in an attempt to craft a compromise that all sides can support.
Advocates for education reform say the latest version of a reform bill is "a major step back" that appears to strip the education commissioner of the powers needed to turn around low-performing schools — authority that was included in Gov.Dannel P. Malloy's original bill.
"It's almost written as if one is trying to coax out a veto from the governor," said Patrick Riccards, chief executive officer of ConnCAN, a New Haven-based advocacy group. "For those who thought the second version is a major step back, this is yet another major step back." ConnCan is a well-funded Connecticut thunk tank that has a paid staff and several offices in Connecticut cities. Just who funds Conncan is a bit of a mystery, as its website is silent on the matter.
State lawmakers Wednesday gave Gov.Dannel P. Malloy's staff a copy of what is being called a "working draft" of a revised bill on education reform — an issue that has been under intense discussion for weeks.
A spokesman for the governor said in an email Wednesday evening: "We just got a copy of the bill. Our folks are going through it. There won't be any reaction on it tonight." A summary of the draft was circulating Wednesday night.
Hartford Courant
About 1,000 public school teachers cheered and held up signs with messages such as "STAND UP FOR EDUCATION" Monday evening, as their union leaders pushed at a State Capitol rally for passage of an education bill rejecting key elements of Gov.Dannel P. Malloy's proposed reform package.
"Most of what the governor has proposed attacks teachers and our profession, and does little to close the achievement gap," said President Phil Apruzzese of the Connecticut Education Association, which represents 43,000 teachers in the state.
House Majority Leader J. Brendan Sharkey told teachers tonight that he and his colleagues are concerned about the “scale, speed, and scope” of the governor’s education reform proposal since in ways it is “very much untested.”
Sharkey addressed 800 teachers as they rallied at the State Capitol to urge legislators to get reform done right. “We’ve heard you,” Sharkey told the teachers assembled. He explained that he and a handful of other top officials tonight are working on revisions to Substitute Bill 24, the alternative to the governor’s proposal that was approved by the Education Committee in late March.
According to Sharkey, the job of that handful of people is to make sure that the education reform that ultimately gets enacted does not happen “too fast, too big, or too quickly.” Sharkey continued, “We all care first and foremost about the kids.”
Tonight’s event mirrored yesterday’s impactful(sic) rally where teachers emphasized that their voices need to be prominent in education reform because they are in the classroom every day.
About two dozen legislators broke away briefly from tonight’s voting inside the State Capitol to join the teachers’ rally. Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore Len Fasano told the teachers, “You being here has a tremendous impact. To try and squeeze this education reform debate into this short session is ludicrous.”
CEA Statement
The controversy has contributed to a decline in the public perception of the Governor's job performance. Already below 50% due to unpopular tax increases and battles with State union employees, the most recent pollhas Malloy at a 37% approval rate with 44% of those polled disapproving.
The poll , released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, shows 47 percent of registered voters like Malloy as a person, regardless of how they feel about the Democrat's policies. Seventeen percent don't like Malloy and 37 percent said they don't know enough to form an opinion.
The same poll showed 44 percent of registered voters disapprove of the job that he's doing, while 37 percent approve. In March, Quinnipiac found 45 percent disapproved of the job Malloy was doing, compared to 44 percent who approved. WTNH Story
"We do know that our opponents continue to rally for the governor’s original bill—a dangerous experiment sure to explode. There are no indications that Governor Malloy will back down. In fact, this week he again warned municipal leaders to not expect increased funding unless the legislature sends him a “meaningful” education reform package.
School superintendents, business groups, charter school management companies, and Michelle Rhee continue to lobby ferociously to see the governor’s original bill enacted. For example, Joe Cirasuolo, executive director of the CT Association of Public School Superintendents, today expressed outrage that the legislature could go in a direction that requires so much negotiation with the teachers union in a network school that it could effectively block a turnaround strategy."
email to teachers - April 27