• About Us
  • Activity
  • Advertising
  • Books
  • Business
  • Contact
  • Entertainment
  • feedback
  • Government
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • Members
  • National
  • Nevada
  • Nevada News and Views
  • Newsmax
  • NN&V Ads
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Polls
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Subscription Confirmation
  • Survey
  • Survey
  • Terms of Service
  • Today’s Top 10
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Welcome!
  • Yop Poll Archive
Nevada News and Views
  • Home
  • Muth’s Truths
  • Politics
  • Government
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Nevada
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Travel
    • News
    • Sports
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Pinterest

  • RSS

Opinion

Teachers Union Capitulation Probably Not Good Enough

Teachers Union Capitulation Probably Not Good Enough
N&V Staff
December 10, 2009

(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – The secretary of the U.S. Department of Education has told the Gibbons Administration the language proposed by the Nevada state teachers union to change a state law to make the state eligible for as much as $170 million in federal school improvement funds is “not optimal.”

Stacy Woodbury, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jim Gibbons, had a conversation with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Monday and communicated the conversation to Sen. Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, chairwoman of a legislative panel that oversees federal stimulus funding in Nevada.

Nevada is not now eligible for a share of the “Race to the Top” funds because of a state law passed in 2003 that prohibits student performance to be used in the evaluation of teachers.

Gibbons said he will call a special session of the Legislature by June to change the law to make Nevada eligible for the funds. Gibbons wants the law repealed in its entirety.

The Nevada State Education Association has published draft language that would change the state law to allow local school districts to negotiate the use of student achievement data to evaluate teachers.

Lynn Warne, president of the union, said the language was drafted with the assistance of the staff of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and would not have been proposed if it was not believed to be acceptable to the U.S. Department of Education.

Woodbury said she advised Duncan of the proposed teacher union language, who then replied that it was not optimal. She said Duncan believes that student achievement scores should be a major factor in evaluating teachers.

Woodbury said today that Duncan did not say the teachers union solution was absolutely incompatible with obtaining Race to the Top funds.

But if using student performance data to evaluate teachers is considered a good way to improve education in Nevada, why not just repeal the law, she said.

The issue should not be about doing the bare minimum to become eligible for the funding, Woodbury said.

“It should be about making our educational system better for our kids,” she said.

The Nevada Legislative Committee on Education on Friday will hear from a representative of the U.S. Department of Education, as well as the teachers union and others, on the Race to the Top funding issue.

Prev postNext post

Related Items
Opinion
December 10, 2009
N&V Staff

Related Items

More in Opinion

College Campus

Lib Views Protected On College Campus

Penny PressMarch 25, 2021
Read More

Great Dog, Great Half A Lap Of America, Some Seriously Bad Truck Driving

Penny PressMarch 24, 2021
Read More

Can Someone Earn $1-million in a Year Honestly?

Ron KnechtMarch 24, 2021
Read More

Watching Biden Is Like Watching Animal Abuse

Penny PressMarch 19, 2021
Read More

Restrictions on Kids ‘crime against humanity’

Penny PressMarch 19, 2021
Read More

Bitcoin and Other Digital Currency: The Next Big Thing?

Ron KnechtMarch 18, 2021
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Subscribe Free By Email

Looking for the best in breaking news and conservative views? Let Chuck do all the work for you! Subscribe to his FREE "Muth's Truths" e-newsletter.

* indicates required
Nevada News and Views
Nevada News & Views is an educational project of Citizen Outreach Foundation, a non-partisan IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. It is not associated or affiliated with any political party or group. Nevada News & Views is accessible by the public at no cost. It funds its operations through tax-deductible contributions from donors and supporters and does not accept government money or grants.

TAGS

Featured Article Nevada Politics Muth's Truths business government Government Opinion Obama News Donald Trump Ron Knecht GOP Republicans Adam Laxalt

Copyright © 2021 Citizen Outreach | Maintained by VirtualAlly

Marijuana Advocates Announce Formation of Ballot Advocacy Group
Gov. Gibbons Signs Emergency Regs to Implement Real ID Act