Jolt
Extra Jolt: Waiting for Sen. Rodney Tom
Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue) passed a Waiting for Superman-style education reform bill this afternoon, attaching his sweeping amendments (which got killed early in the session
and again last week after stalling in the ways and means committee) to a separate education reform bill that provides funding for last year's education reform pilot projects.
Tom's successful amendments: make school districts lay off underperforming teachers first, regardless of seniority; provide bonuses for high-performing teachers; and mandate that schools on the receiving end of teacher transfers must sign off on new hires. Tom dropped a provision from last week's version that eliminated automatic bonuses (“bumps”) for teachers with masters degrees.
[pullquote]Most senate liberals—Sens. Lisa Brown, Maralyn Chase, Nick Harper, Karen Keiser, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Sharon Nelson—voted against the bill, showing their support for the teachers' union.[/pullquote]
The final bill, including Tom's amendment passed 30-17, with most senate liberals—Sens. Lisa Brown, Maralyn Chase, Nick Harper, Karen Keiser, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Sharon Nelson—voting against the bill, showing their support for the teachers' union, which, as Andrew reported last week , came out against Tom's provisions.
After the surprise vote, Shannon Campion, head of Stand for Children Washington, an education reform group that's been working with Sen. Tom to push for this legislation, said the senate: "showed their commitment to keep great teachers and make no-cost, common sense policy changes that will help our state come out of this recession stronger."
Asked about the bill's chances in the house, (where an earlier version of the bill didn't even get a vote in committee), Campion acknowledged "this will be tough."
We have a call in to Sen. Tom and the Washington Education Association.
Tom's successful amendments: make school districts lay off underperforming teachers first, regardless of seniority; provide bonuses for high-performing teachers; and mandate that schools on the receiving end of teacher transfers must sign off on new hires. Tom dropped a provision from last week's version that eliminated automatic bonuses (“bumps”) for teachers with masters degrees.
[pullquote]Most senate liberals—Sens. Lisa Brown, Maralyn Chase, Nick Harper, Karen Keiser, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Sharon Nelson—voted against the bill, showing their support for the teachers' union.[/pullquote]
The final bill, including Tom's amendment passed 30-17, with most senate liberals—Sens. Lisa Brown, Maralyn Chase, Nick Harper, Karen Keiser, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Sharon Nelson—voting against the bill, showing their support for the teachers' union, which, as Andrew reported last week , came out against Tom's provisions.
After the surprise vote, Shannon Campion, head of Stand for Children Washington, an education reform group that's been working with Sen. Tom to push for this legislation, said the senate: "showed their commitment to keep great teachers and make no-cost, common sense policy changes that will help our state come out of this recession stronger."
Asked about the bill's chances in the house, (where an earlier version of the bill didn't even get a vote in committee), Campion acknowledged "this will be tough."
We have a call in to Sen. Tom and the Washington Education Association.
