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Editor, News-Register:
Last year Forbes ranked West Virginia teachers among the 50 top leaders in the world. Leaders like that are exactly who we should want educating our children. Leaders like that, who work in our schools and interact with our children, are exactly who we should be listening to when it comes to improving West Virginia education.
The West Virginia Legislature is preparing for a special session to consider teacher pay raises and other educational reforms. The Legislature has to do this because they failed to pass promised pay raises during the regular legislative session.
Instead, the Legislature tried to pass a massive overhaul of the education system that would have created charter schools and educational savings accounts, and yes -- did include teacher pay raises. The bill was so bad that teachers actually walked out, for the second year in a row, even at the expense of the pay raises.
Leaders have knowledge. In showing they understand what's at stake, our teachers demonstrated the type of knowledge we want leaders to have. They understand that school "choice" ultimately takes money out of our already-underfunded public education system. The teachers understand that where choice might be useful -- where schools are consolidating, and buildings are crumbling -- charter schools won't develop. They understand that more suspensions, expulsions, and police in our schools won't help the students who are most in need of help.
Leaders are inclusive. Under the education reform bill considered by the legislature this past session, our tax dollars would have gone to private schools that discriminate against students. Private schools that received state ESA funds would have merely had to have certified that they complied with the Civil Rights Act of 1866 -- that's right, EIGHTEEN 66. As such, there was nothing in the bill that would have prohibited private schools that say "no Jews allowed" or "no LGBTQ kids allowed" or "no girls allowed" or "no kids in wheelchairs allowed" or "no immigrants allowed" or "no pregnant kids allowed" or "no poor kids allowed" from receiving our tax dollars. Our teachers knew that it would be wholly unacceptable for our tax money to go to schools that discriminate against any children.
Leaders have solutions. Teachers aren't insisting that there is nothing wrong with public education.
Instead, they are offering solutions for the problems West Virginia is facing, not solutions that special interests want. They are asking for more local flexibility. They are asking for more mental health professionals and support personnel. They are asking for better facilities and more funding for supplies. Legislators should be letting teachers lead and listening to these needs.
Leaders learn from their mistakes. Right now, members of our Legislature are not acting like leaders. They tried to force unpopular, harmful education "reforms" through in a too-big-to-succeed bill by holding pay-raises hostage. And they failed. Now, with a special session looming, these legislators are indicating that they have no new ideas, they simply hope to try the same thing again. Perhaps they should learn from our teachers, instead.
Eli Baumwell
ACLU of West Virginia
Charleston