Deal gives principals more say on staff choice; Under a tentative agreement between Minneapolis teachers and the school district, principals would use an interview-and- select system, not seniority. (Copyright 2008 Star Tribune) Minneapolis teachers would have much less say regarding the schools they would work in under a pioneering tentative contract agreement reached this week between the teachers' union and the school district. The agreement would allow principals to interview and select their teaching staffs rather than going by the traditional seniority process that has been in effect in the district for more than 30 years. Details of the contract, revealed Wednesday, created concern among teachers. Under the accord, teachers at more than 40 schools, including many on the North Side and all high schools, Montessori and immersion schools, would be chosen through the new interview-and-select process next year. That authority would spread to other city schools in 2009-10. "What we want to do is to have more stability in our sites to create a more cohesive community of faculty and principals," said Emma Hixson, the district's executive director of employee relations and its chief negotiator. "The best way to get that is by having the buy-in from both the teacher and the site ... 'I want to be there and you want me there.'-" However, many teachers who heard details of the agreement Wednesday reacted negatively. Many said it would promote favoritism and eliminate the seniority privileges that teachers have earned through hard work. One longtime instructor said the interview-and-select process creates too much uncertainty for staff and students. "I'm going to vote no. It's a way for the district to get rid of teachers who have higher seniority," said Karen Maverick, a special education resource teacher at Lucy Craft Laney Elementary. "With this being year-to-year, this doesn't give students the consistency in their schools. "They need structure, and I can see a revolving door in the schools, and this would discourage teachers from even wanting to the work for the district." Mary Beth Scallen, a media specialist at Waite Park Elementary, said of the proposed new process: "On the whole, I truly believe principals will do what's best for the children. But a small part of me is a bit scared." Robert Panning-Miller, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, said after a two-hour union meeting Wednesday: "It was a difficult night for everybody. Not everyone is happy. No matter where you are on the issues, there is a lot to think through." In addition, the contract calls for pay increases of 2 percent this school year and 1 percent in the 2008-09 year. That would be less than raises in a tentative agreement for St. Paul teachers, which would increase salaries by 2.5 percent in the first year of the contract and 2.25 percent in the second year. Minneapolis teachers have been working under their previous contract, which expired last June. That two-year deal included a 2 percent raise each year. Minneapolis teachers have had unusual power over their work assignments because of their contract's seniority provisions, but that sway has been under increasing attack from parents and district officials. "It really is a system where seniority empowers you, but it's not a straightforward seniority system," Panning-Miller said. "It's pretty complex. In many ways, interview-and-select has always been around, but the seniority has been a check to the games played in the hiring process. An interview-and-select system would lose that ability to challenge." Teaching vacancies now are filled annually by bidding, in which positions are claimed by teachers in the order in which they were hired. The two sides have been negotiating since March. Jan. 15 is the state-mandated deadline for districts to settle teacher contracts. . Terry Collins - 612-673-1790 |