Time for City Teachers to Commit

‘Give us a chance!’ That was the cry of teachers in the York City School District during deliberations on options for a financial recovery plan that took place earlier this year. They tried to convince everyone that even though there have been years of failed attempts to improve the district’s performance, they deserved another chance. They argued that the new internal reform plan presented by their union, the York City Education Association, in collaboration with the administration, would make the district financially solvent and dramatically improve student performance.

Based on the teachers’ commitments to salary and benefit reductions (which included a vote by the Teachers’ Union membership to accept the Recovery Plan), the Recovery Plan was approved in the spring by: the Recovery Advisory Committee, the York City School Board, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. York County Community Foundation and its YorkCounts committee endorsed the plan and agreed to help make it a success. Better educating our city’s children is of the utmost importance to us.

Progress is being made. Students were invited back to the district and many came back, resulting in a net gain of students for the 2013-2014 school year. Parents, teachers and administrators have invested their time to organize school advisory councils to develop building improvement plans. A district-wide Community Education Council has been established and is meeting its milestones to establish performance standards for the district and move the financial recovery process forward.

Now, just as positive momentum is building, the teachers refuse to honor their commitment to sign a collective bargaining agreement that includes the terms that they agreed to by voting to accept the financial recovery plan. Without a commitment in writing that the union will operate under the newly agreed-upon salary and benefit terms, the district cannot ensure that the new improvement plans for each school will be financially feasible. The District would be foolish to move plans forward and spend money on new initiatives without a guarantee that the salary agreements will be honored.

We applaud the Community Education Council’s decision to hold off on approving specific building plans until the teacher’s contract is signed. As stated in the financial recovery plan, the Council cannot act in a way that would increase the financial burden on the district. They would be violating their obligation to adhere to the plan if they move forward individual school plans without the teachers’ union contract secured. Without a written commitment from the teachers now, the only logical course of action for the Council to follow is to begin the process of identifying outside operators and engaging them to educate the district’s students.

Teachers, this IS your chance. If you are willing to commit to internal reform, honor your agreement and sign the contract.

Bill Hartman, President and CEO

Jane Conover, Vice President of Community Investment

Talking York City School District

The York City School District has been in the news recently, and, generally, not for positive reasons. First came reports that all but one of the district's schools failed to meet the state's AYP requirements. Then came news that the school board fired Superintendent Sharon Miller, a firing that came with a $700,000 price tag (due to a provision in her contract). This all adds to the community-wide view that the city school district is overwhelmed with problems - vast numbers of poor students and disengaged parents; low staff morale; and tension between administration and the board and even among board members.

Warren Bulette, head of the York County Taxpayers Council and a high-profile critic of several different York County school districts, has thrown open the door on an idea that has been quietly discussed for years: merging the city school district with neighboring districts.

Bulette, in a letter to the editor to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, wrote the city school district has tried for years to reverse declining student performance with little success. He identified this as a countywide problem because all those students who don't graduate or who graduate ill-equipped for a decent job are more likely to drain government resources rather than add to them as a working, tax-paying citizen.

"The city is not going to prosper, nor is York County, unless York city students are better educated," he wrote. "The time has also come for the rest of the school districts to step up to the plate and actually help instead of making it look like they are concerned."

Consider consolidation, he pleaded.

"If the new consolidated organization is organized properly, overall student achievement will improve and the beleaguered taxpayer will benefit — a real win-win."

The Daily Record responded with an editorial - and it agreed.

"The district is just not working - and hasn't been for some time," stated the editorial that ran in the Sept. 28 paper. "... Just bringing in a new superintendent probably won't be the solution. No, we need something more dramatic and systemic."

The editorial called for York Suburban, Central York and West York to divide up the city district. The editorial acknowledged the idea might not be popular - in the city or the suburbs. (Can you say "understatement"?) It offered up - and shot down - some of the expected excuses that opponents might advance to claim consolidation "wouldn't work." It also suggested that consolidation would increase the already growing diversity of the suburban schools, and that would be a good thing.

It concluded: "Yes, Mr. Bullette, you're right. Suburbanites should step in and help the city. They should stop ridiculing and demeaning a struggling district, power up their smart boards and do something to improve the situation."

How long should a struggling school district be given to right itself? Can we as a community make an intentional decision to allow some kids to fail year after year? Is this not an option that should at least be discussed, constructively and sensitively?

- Dan Fink