Education reform bill hotly debated

CARSON CITY —- Teachers and other school employees would get raises or be laid off based on workplace performance — not time on the job — under a hotly contested bill debated Saturday in the Nevada Legislature.
Assembly Bill 555 would end “last in, first out” layoff policies and automatic raises for teachers who get advanced degrees or clear longevity hurdles.

The bill, proposed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, is part of a conservative education agenda aimed at putting student achievement ahead of job, salary and benefits security for adults.
“Educators are best protected by the quality of their work,” Dale Erquiaga, senior policy adviser to Sandoval, told the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means. “We protect the people who are doing the work and show results and we hold others accountable.”

It’s one of several Sandoval proposals based on conservative reforms enacted by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Washington, D.C., school chancellor Michelle Rhee. Among those proposals: Annual contracts for licensed teachers and administrators, with no right of reemployment; broadening from two to four the number of categories for teacher evaluation results; and prohibiting pay increases based only on seniority or advanced degrees.

Rhee, officials from chambers of commerce in Northern and Southern Nevada and some teachers testified in favor of the bill, saying it would increase accountability and improve student performance in the state’s low-ranking public schools.

Opponents, however, say the changes would drive experienced, highly educated teachers out of Nevada’s schools.

Most teachers who testified Saturday opposed Sandoval’s approach, saying it would result in layoffs for higher-paid, more experienced teachers who would be replaced by inexperienced teachers at less pay.

“This face is the one you are going to see when I get laid off because I cost too much,” Petrina McCarty-Puhl, the 2006 Nevada Teacher of the Year. She said the bill suggests longtime educators would be devalued simply because of their experience.

“I am not burning out; I am burning brighter,” she said. “My passion is un­diminished.”

Union contracts now often include pay raises and bonuses for longevity or advanced academic degrees, even if the degree isn’t related to the subject taught. Erquiaga and others said those factors often don’t result in improved student performance.

“We think you should reward the teacher who is performing, not reward them all simply because they have a master’s degree,” Erquiaga said. “My master’s degree could be in French and I would receive a bump in the salary scale even if I’m a math teacher.”

Others said one-year contracts wouldn’t allow schools to develop talent.

“Teachers aren’t just fry cooks,” said Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, “They don’t just come in, learn to flip the burger, and if they don’t perform you let them go.”

If passed, the bill would go into effect in July but it wouldn’t affect current contracts. That means potential layoffs resulting from Sandoval’s proposal to cut more than $200 million in K-12 funding in order to preserve a $5.8 billion general fund spending limit from 2011-13 would not be conducted under the performance-based criteria.

An alternative proposal pushed by Democratic leaders in the Legislature would have teachers who receive consecutive poor evaluations placed on probation, establish performance bonuses and change how teachers and administrators are evaluated.

Committee members did not vote on Sandoval’s proposal Saturday.

Contact Benjamin Spillman at
bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.