November 6, 2012 Election Update
While the general election is still many months away, it is never too soon to review what is at stake in regard to the future of public education in Idaho. Three referendums will appear on the November 6, 2012 ballot.
Proposition 1: The referendum to approve or reject legislation limiting negotiated agreements between teachers and local school boards and ending the practice of issuing renewable contracts.
Proposition 2: Referendum to approve or reject legislation providing teacher performance pay based on state mandated test scores, student performance, hard to fill positions and leadership.
Proposition 3: Referendum to approve or reject legislation amending school district funding, requiring provision of computing devices and online course for high school graduation.
Voter rejection of Proposition 1 will maintain the same out-dated system that has failed our students, Fundamentally, a vote to reject this legislation is a vote to continue the system that guarantees teachers, regardless of performance, guaranteed employment for life (tenure) and that local teacher union affiliates should be allowed to negotiate “everything under the sun” with the “sun” never setting,
Voter rejection of Proposition 2 will continue the long outdated teacher compensation system where only longevity and how many college credits earned determines a teacher’s salary. It is a system that completely ignores whether or not the students the teacher is charged to teach actually learn anything.
Voter rejection of Proposition 3 will keep our schools in the “dark ages” of technology where schools will continue to conduct “business as usual.”
There is no doubt that the election day, November 6, 2012, is truly a decision day for Idaho schools. It is a decision that will determine whether our schools will continue to be mired in the past, in a “rut” of mediocrity, or truly move forward utilizing the tremendous talents or our teachers and our students. Idaho taxpayers, parents and students deserve no less!
No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy.
- Lyman Beecher (And I might add education)
