Schools for Tomorrow Blog

The Denver Classroom Teacher Association decision to postpone a real decision on the Bruce Randolph School autonomy bid only delays a looming day of reckoning. DCTA President Kim Ursetta explained the two-week pause this way in the Rocky Mountain News:

“We’re still having conversations with Bruce Randolph staff . . . in trying to get clarification as to what exactly they’re asking for," she said. "We feel it’s in everyone’s best interests to continue these conversations before making this decision."

As I’ve said before, this boils down to a fundamental philosophical disagreement. Bruce Randolph is asking for true autonomy. This means beginning from an assumption that district red tape and union contract language does not apply to the school. Bruce Randolph wants the right to choose which elements of district regulation and union contract it wishes to opt into. The school board unanimously endorsed this in December.

Ursetta and other DCTA leaders apparently are opposed to this approach. They have consistently insisted that Randolph specify which elements of the contract the school wishes to opt out of. As Ursetta told The Denver Post:

"We want to find out exactly what Bruce Randolph has identified in the contract that is an impediment to student success," she said. "We want to rectify that for all (Denver Public Schools) teachers.

Unless Randolph backs down and provides the union a laundry list (which appears unlikely), we’re headed for a showdown. The question then becomes: will the school choose the autonomy route, even over DCTA objections? Could this end up in court?

As this blog keeps telling you, stay tuned.

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Autonomy, Teacher unions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.