A Vision for Boston:
Questions for the 2009 Mayoral Candidates

Day 3: The Next Teachers' Contract

What will your priorities be for the next teachers' contract and how will you achieve successful implementation given the tight fiscal position the City will face over the next few years?

Response from Councilor Flaherty:

While the BPS has enjoyed a few isolated victories over the last 16 years, we still have a status quo consisting of a frightening dropout crisis, stagnant graduation rates, abysmal test scores and depressing rates of success in college. Negotiating the next teachers’ contract serves as an opportunity to begin bold reforms that are necessary to transform our public school district and turn around our chronically underperforming schools, which currently plague the BPS.

As Mayor, I will fight for greater flexibilities that give individual schools greater autonomies over hiring, firing, budgeting, programming and scheduling. As a vocal proponent of performance management, I’ll advocate for a merit pay program with proven success for teachers in designated schools and performance contracts that stipulate criteria where performance can be tangibly measured and quantified. However, performance contracts mean nothing unless we track our progress, which will require stronger monitoring systems than we currently employ.

I will also use contract negotiations as an opportunity to review the legality of provisions that require union approval for inclusive programming for special education students. Under no circumstances should politics be put ahead of our ability to provide quality education to students who need the most support.