The UFT has raised some good points on this issue, but the overall reality is hypocrisy. If principals make qualitative determinations, they say, the result is favoritism. So it appears Bloomberg/Klein took the bait and went with an "objective" measure — the change in test scores. Not fair says the UFT — the tests are flawed. There is no means of evaluation the UFT would accept, other a huge increase in the number of administrators sitting in classes — and rotating to get a diversity of views. Of course, any increase in administrative costs cheats the children, they would say. Well, it appears that a huge increase in administrative costs is what Governor Cuomo wants.
"Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday proposed tougher criteria to evaluate teachers including greater use of student test scores, more rigorous observation in the classroom." So who would be doing that observation in situation where more and more money is going to the retired? And doesn't this mean that because NYC cannot afford such an observation, it has no right to evaluate teachers.
Now there is one agency I know of that did increase its administrative costs hugely — New York City Transit. I know this from working there in two eras, from 1986 to 1988 and 2001 to 2004. And sure enough, at NYCT workers who don't do their jobs are let go, and most workers do their jobs. You don't have subway and bus maintenance workers throwing $10,000 parts in the garbage anymore to cover up the fact that they didn't feel like installing them. But all those administrators did not come cheap. The private sector, without all those rules and the expectation that people will work even if not forced or be let go, is far less top heavy.
There are two objective measures of teachers.
According to the UFT, the objective measure is dues. Those with seniority pay more, so they have more rights, but those paying any have an income for life whether or not they actually teach, because the children have none.
According to the Mayor, meanwhile, the measure is how much in pension benefits are being accrued each year — virtually none by those first hired, by huge amounts by those approaching retirement. And how much is being paid into the pension funds — a lot by those hired after 2008, less than virtually any other public employees anywhere outside New York State. So the Mayor, now realizing that the UFT has succeeded in redestroying the schools through its pension deals somehow believes he can get out of it. But he can't. Game over. And if he's only cutting 6,000 teaching jobs, he's underfunding the pensions.
My own solution? I've written about it before, but I now understand that it is irrelevant. Because the problems that people are actually seeking to solve are political not managerial. The political problem of taking more from the serfs while avoiding the blame.