Ohio Senate Bill 5 (Issue 2) has had a banner week. Results from a September Quinnipiac poll demonstrate significant gains and now Ohio public teachers are voicing their support for the fiscal reform bill. Building a Better Ohio just launched a teacher specific section to their website which offers facts and endorsements for the pending legislation. Earlier this year Americans watched Ohio Statehouse protests complete with anti-SB5 chants and waving banners. The scene today has evolved into a more academic discussion of the facts. Ohio Issue 2 will improve the state's public school system by eliminating unfair and antiqued practices and providing a top notch education for students.
Teacher Evaluation Standards
All public school districts in Ohio perform teacher evaluations at least once a year. Measures passed into law inside House Bill 153 (Biennial State Budget) mirror the efforts of SB 5 to permit only quality teachers in the classroom. President Obama's "Race to the Top" grant also contains very similar language. Protests concerning annual evaluations were misguided from the start and are now pointless. Dedicated teachers will be rewarded for their stewardship of Ohio's young people while mediocre or poor teachers must be retrained or fired. No logical argument can be made to retain low-performing teachers year after year.
Performance-Based Pay
The primary difference between the way schools currently function and guidelines which must be adhered to in the future, regardless of the fate of SB5, concern pay raises. Both the "Race to the Top" plan developed by Democrats and Ohio HB 153 require teacher conduct, attendance and instruction quality be taken into account when considering a taxpayer funded raise. Currently "step" or automatic pay increases are given on an annual basis for a specific number of years to all teachers. A dedicated teacher who improves the academic abilities of students should be not be financially rewarded in the same manner as failing teachers. Poor or failing teachers should not be rewarded with a raise at all.
Teacher Tenure
Despite the fear tactics used by Ohio Issue 2 opposition groups, teachers who currently have tenure will not lose the perk when the law is approved by voters. The removal of tenure will end the practice of rewarding poor performance evaluations and misconduct which is sometimes criminal, with continued employment. No employee, either public or private should have guaranteed employment regardless of their ability to perform their duties successfully. The removal of tenure is a reasonable reactions to parental concerns relating to substandard educators which cannot be removed from the classroom. The elimination of tenure places more power in the hands of building principals and school boards to make decisions which benefit the district.
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