Philadelphia’s Broad-trained Superintendent William Hite offered the district’s employees an insulting contract: pay cuts up to 13%, benefit cuts, longer school days, and no pay increases until 2017. After 2017, any increases would be “performance-based,” dependent on the principal’s recommendation. Seniority would be abolished, as well as any payment for advanced degrees. See here and here
In addition, schools with more than 1,000 students would not be required to have libraries or librarians. No more counselors. No limits on class size. The district would no longer be required to provide teachers lounges, water fountains, etc.
This is the most insulting, most demeaning contract ever offered in any school district to my knowledge. The terms seem more appropriate to a prison than to a school, although it seems that both teachers and students are treated as wards of a cruel, harsh state. Who would want to teach in such a district that cared so little for students and teachers?
Is this what Dr. Hite learned at the Broad Superintendents Academy? Crush the workforce?
Didn’t anyone ever tell him that teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions?
Leaders of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said his members would never accept such demeaning terms and predicted many would leave for districts where they were treated with dignity.
District officials defended their proposal:
“Deputy Superintendent Paul Kihn said he could not comment on ongoing labor talks, but said that the school system “actually values teachers as the most important resource in our district. We are committed to providing teachers with a set of working conditions…that will actually in the long run make Philadelphia a place that people will want to come and work.”
“Under the district’s opening proposal, issued Friday, the PFT’s 15,000 members — 10,000 teachers, plus nurses, counselors, secretaries, aides and others — would take pay cuts ranging from 5 percent for those who make under $25,000 to 13 percent for those who make over $55,000.”
Who will want to teach in a district that offers less pay, fewer befits, longer hours, no libraries, no counselors, no place to sit and rest between classes?
There was no discussion of reducing the pay of the superintendent, William Hite, who is paid $300,000 yearly and is surrounded by a coterie of six-figure assistants, including Deputy Superintendent Kihn ($210,000),
On another topic, Superintendent Hite plans to close 29 schools. A new study shows that the receiving schools perform no better than the closing schools. The closings do nothing to improve education for the students. Are they intended to save money or to make room for more charters (even though many of the charters in Philadelphia are low-performing or are under investigation for financial irregularities)?
With this contract and the proposed closings, the School Reform Commission and Superintendent make clear that their goal is to end public education in Philadelphia.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I could not believe my eyes when I read this. C’mon Obama, soon you have to speak up. Their union too.
Sad, ludicrous, ingenuous, mean spirited. Yes, sounds more like a prison. Shore up your support again not only for Chicago, Garfield, but now Philadelphia.
Hmm…why does this sound familiar? Oh yeah. That’s right. My inner city school district has a Broadie Superintendent with six figure “friends.” The union gave our Superintendent a vote of no confidence. Has that changed working conditions? No. Teachers, when you see working conditions going downhill, don’t stick around, thinking it will get better “someday.” Create an account on SchoolSpring and vote with your feet! Get thee to a new school district!
Sounds familiar here in Louisiana also…Our Supt (?) John White fits that description to a letter. No real teaching or supervisory credentials, six figure salary, hiring more like him, removing accreditation for public schools and no teacher certification required, no more counselors and librarians needed, charter, vouchers and virtual schools to replace traditional schools, VAM, tenure removal, etc., etc., etc…
Bridget, this must be what they (John White and William Hite) learned in Broad training: crush the teachers.
This column by Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch show the reaction in Philadelphia. Also read the comments.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/If-this-is-the-deal-Philly-teachers-should-strike.html
The comments are depressing. It seems about 2/3 saying it’s about time teachers were brought in line with the rest of the world. I think that we are too insular when we think that the public will support us. I’m guessing that most won’t.
Today at professional development to prepare for giving the state tests in a couple of weeks, a picture of John Legend (an Obama-like teacher basher in sheep’s clothing) came up with some ‘hey, we love you teachers’ quotation. I said out loud that it seemed strange that someone who thinks that education and teachers are so bad would be used to motivate us. No one even knew what I was talking about.
We are screwed. It will get much worse before it turns around. People bitch about how much we pay teachers without batting an eye at how much it costs to police the world. We lost the PR campaign long ago.
You lost the PR game because you don’t own the media. You have to do it on the ground level. One thing I don’t understand is why didn’t teachers all over the state of Pennsylvania do something to support the teachers in Philadelphia. I’ve noticed that most teachers in good districts seem very complacent and have done nothing for the ones being attacked in urban areas.
I’ve posted a response to this on my blog as well: makethegrade.weebly.com.
Perhaps Philadelphia should go back to one room school houses, where as part of their compensation teachers were offered room and board in private houses, at least during the school term. No need for much of a salary then I guess since at least teachers would have food and a roof over their heads. Oh yea, don’t get married or have children though. I’m sure Philadelphia is likely to entice a lot of new teachers there for its fine working conditions. Oh wait, where did I put that law school application.
Or call in the TFA scabs every two years….who needs teachers when all it is is test prep anyway.
Anyone who worked under Deasy or Hite in Prince George’s County, Maryland would say, welcome to the Broadie Toadie Club.
This is the next logical step taken by deformers in the destruction of public education in our nation. Now is the time to stand strong in unity as we face this assault on our nation’s dignity.
When’s the rally in Philly?
When’s the rally in Louisiana?
Yes. Teachers all over Pennsylvania should be standing up to help. They have done nothing so now they will be able to pick off the teachers of Philadelphia. The only teachers who have done anything are the ones in Chicago.
Read the new report by NEPC on how these policies are undermining teacher professionalism.
http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/policy-reforms-deprofessionalization
Here’s the link.
I have been a Hearing Support Teacher in Philly schools since 1999. I am single. I am 65. I worked for 29 years in private special ed schools and agencies, 14 of those years in a Sch for the Deaf, one of the only approved charters in PA at the time…founded before there were public schools in PA. As a supervisor of the multihandicapped deaf unit, I was making $22,000 in 1984, $10 thousand less than public schooI teachers at the time. I was let go from PSD in an economic furlough in 1984 when all our students were sent back to their local school districts with PL94-142. I had survived all those years by living in low rent housing with faulty heat in poor neighborhoods… and I had no savings. I moved out of the city and back home with my mother in Bucks County. Then I spent the next 15 years trying to survive on part time, substitute, tutoring and low salaries from private agencies for the disabled. I worked 8 yrs at The Woods School with adult head trauma patients and profoundly impaired adults. I trained as a Vision Therapist with an Optometrist. I trained as a reading tutor at The PA College of Optometry. I scaped together enough to take some graduate courses in supervision. I had glowing evaluations. My professionalism and passion were clear to all my employers. My students made improvements never seen prior. I went many years without health insurance. I drove a beat up car. I could never afford to buy a home because my income was considered unstable and insufficient. I lived paycheck to paycheck. Twice I collected food stamps and unemployment. Tired of working in agencies constantly under the threat of state and federal cuts, I said, “Enough…I have paid my dues, I have proven my professionalism…I need to work in the public schools to earn a decent wage.” Finally, in 1999, when Philly lifted its residency requirement, I applied and was immediately hired as a Hearing Support Teacher. I got the notice just hours before I was to sign bankrupcy papers with my attorney. It took me 5 years to erase the financial damage of living on crumbs for 15 yrs but I was able to pull myself from the edge of bankrupcy. In 2008, when I was 60 yrs old, with a professional salary and job security, I was able to purchase my first house ever for $160,000….where I live today. As a professional, I do what few others can do…I teach my hearing impaired students to demonstrate near normal phonological skills and they function at grade level in regular classes…because of me. Some have gained entrance at select admission high schoools. Many have gone onto regular colleges. I have a BS from Penn State in Deaf Education, an MEd in Learning Disabilities from Temple Univ, post graduate credits from Pa College of Optometry, Lenoire Rhyne College and Temple. On a Masters Plus 30 scale (I have MS plus 48), I make $83,000 . If I work ESY in summers it raises to $89,000. I can not retire now because during those lean 15 yrs after the furlough, my employers did not participate in the public employees pension fund. I knew I had to work for another 7 years to make up pension contributions for those lost 15 yrs. If these cuts in Philly go through, I will lose my house. I pay a mortgage. If my salary lowers to $77500, with all the payroll deductions, I will bring home what I did in 2003. It will drastically effect my future social security rate and my pension benefit rate. I have no idea what I will do. I have few options, if any. There will be no strike in Philly because we are a state take-over district and we would risk our teaching certificates and I would lose my license as a teacher of the hearing impaired. It’s been 43 yrs of professional hell in PA and I am tired of being at the mercy of greed and political games. I cry often these days.
Very sad. You like others feel abandoned by our own political leaders. They don’t care about the regular American worker. They are all for sale. I hope things work out. Why doesn’t the media interview people like you? The people need to hear these stories.
What do we say? What can we do? Does anyone have connections with Philadelphia media outlets? How can they ignore stories like this?
It must be the Broad template because what’s happening there is what Louisiana’s John White is advocating and, worse, succeeding in accomplishing.
ALL organized Labor better get smart and stop this corporate hostile takeover or there will be no unions and the clock will be turned back 125 years. Don’t say it can’t happen. It’s time to fight or die.
That’s the most ridiculous contract offer I have ever heard! The superintendent’s salary never gets cut, kinda like our elected officials. They want to dictate cuts for everyone but themselves.
Little by little, step by step. We see the eroding of the teaching profession by corporate America. Each day we say, NOW THIS! Districts and Corporate America rely on our passion to teach as the reason we are still here. I always said I didn’t get into teaching to get rich. But I at least need to make a living. We are going backwards instead of forwards. Why don’t we just go back to the time when teachers lived by moving around to different students’ homes and multiple classes in one room.
In general, everyday workers, teachers and students are the victims in this war of corporate America against powerful unions.
That’s pretty much the law in FL that starts in 2014, minus the libraries and guidance part. Merit pay based on test scores, no seniority, layoffs based on test scores. We have new charters popping up all the time, so layoffs are always a threat. We hire long-term subs instead of full-time teachers to protect our jobs, so we can “layoff” those unfilled vacancies rather than layoff a teacher (thankfully we have a superintendent who supports her teachers.) However, that stinks for the new grads who are getting paid half what I do, and have no benefits to speak of (including health!)
Also, in my district we are no longer allowed to have small appliances like microwaves and mini-fridges, but that pales in comparison to all the other assults.
Wow. Jeb Bush and his friends really care about people. Isn’t it nice that they and their billionaire friends are doing this to people who actually work for a living. It’s hard to believe.
The Ackerman severance package continues to stun me.
And that same Deputy Superintendent, Kihn, says this is how we will treat teachers like professionals, make teachers want to teach in Philadelphia, and grow innovative practices! He’s either stupid, or has never been in a classroom and doesn’t have the first idea of what it takes to really care about a lot of kids and be innovative!
This situation is truly deplorable! And sadly, the attitude among so many is a false nostalgia for the “three R’s” and those one-room school houses and sweet, overworked, “dedicated” (and underpaid) young women teachers. People want teachers to continue to be self-immolating, self-denying saints rather than real people who (gasp!) want to make a living at what they do–as those expressing contempt for teachers’ unions seem well able to do. They want to consign teachers to the nineteenth century, while they themselves acquire 21st century wealth. In some ways I hope for a mass exodus of teachers from Philadelphia–and a boycott by any other teachers. But sadly, I fear that these district administrator are also hoping for just that–so they can hire people off the street desperate for some kind of a job and willing to accept–no, I won’t say willing… forced to accept–the obscene contracts the school district is foisting on them.
It sounds like the unfortunate moral of the story is don’t teach in Philadelphia.
Or live there, if you can help it.
What cities will be left after the corporate vultures are done?
Nothing more clearly states that we do not value the education of Philadelphia students than this contract. By explicitly devaluing teachers who pursue to improve their craft, the district communicates that they do not value experienced teachers. As a TFA Philly alum myself, I know that schools with out veteran teachers are hugely problematic and missing on the opportunity to cultivate great educators. With teachers, as with anything, you get what you paid for. When will leadership step up to fight for the best education for our children??
This is the most degrading document I’ve seen out of Philly thus far. It’s one thing to push back against unions and teachers, its another to guarantee and support the end of any semblance of education for children.
You lost me here: It’s one thing to push back against unions and teachers.
Our working conditions are the learning conditions of the students. So it’s okay to push against teachers and their due process rights and you believe that won’t affect the children?
My point is that the game of fighting unions often has more to do with fighting their political influence than with education. The demonization of unions in general leaves conversations on actual education secondary. At least that’s how the media has presented it.
This newly proposed contract illuminates something much bigger than a traditional challenge to teachers due process, or even the salaries that the world is ignorantly complaining about. The new contract, in my view, explicitly states that schools and all who work in them are no longer worth investing in. This seems more personal than political moves in the past. The message is loud and clear in this contract: we refuse to value the education of Philadelphia students. We refuse to value those who wish to educate them, mentor them, support them. We want to privatize education.
Also on Rhee, totally agreed. Her anti-union union isn’t fooling anyone.
Please tell Rhee: You can’t put students first if you put the teachers last.
At the risk of sounding crass, we all need to stop bending over for the educational managerial class (public school administrators and charter managers and testing executives) and stand up to them. They can only do this because we blog, talk and do virtually nothing else of substantive action.
And, why are our unions (local, state, and national) leading the active protest?
Maybe we need to start by cleaning our own house.
And people wonder why we all end up working for charter schools.
And why we support many of the charters in the district. They are doing much better by the students than the District.
Charter schools are allowed to accept or reject students. They also have more funding sources. The death of public education will create more poverty and crimes. What will the poor children of America do now? Oh…. get a job! We will also do away with unions and reintroduce child labor. Give us answers to move forward, not backwards! Help
I work in a public school in Philadelphia. To play devil’s advocate, isn’t this just an opening position that’s a reflection of how ridiculous public bargaining has gotten? Does anyone really think this is what the District wants and expects? Doesn’t this offer allow the Union leaders some room to save face later since it will appear they pushed back against these draconian measures?
Also, we can be as offended as we want, and complain about the mismanagement of district funds all we want, but the reality is the SD borrowed $300 million just to pay it’s bills for the rest of this year, and the can they have been kicking down the road is stopping here with this contract negotiation. ACT 46 is all ready to go.
Get ready, it’s going to be really ugly this time around…
Word here in CT is that Paul Vallas already reformed your schools. What happened?
It had better get ugly with the salaries the central administration seems to give itself and the giving away of public funds to charter schools. There probably is no deficit that wasn’t purposely created.
Thank you Governor Corbett and cronies.
How do these people live with themselves? This is criminal! Parents have to step up and join in the fight to stop these people. Thanks for bringing it to the nations attention…I just hope more human beings become outraged!
I agree parents have to step up…it’s time.
Let them try ACT 46. If the SRC thought it was a viable option Ramos wouldn’t have gone to Harrisburg last year trying to get a new stronger law passed that would hold up under judicial review.The new proposal states that the district no longer has to provide learning materials for the student body. I’m sure that alone improves the quality of education for every student. No books,paper,pencils, copy machines,chalk. I guess we go back to Lincoln’s time, just turn off the lights and light fires in the trash cans to study by. What they’re going to study is another problem in itself.
I am a retired Reading Specialist. I have been retired for 13 years. Boy, am I glad I left the system! I worked for 30 years for the Phila School District and for the last 5 years of that I was not allowed to do my job. I was used as a prep time teacher and did a “dog and pony” show in a different classroom every 45 minutes. I saw children that I knew I could help but I wasn’t allowed to. I was so burned out that I took early retirement and a permanent pension cut. It was worth it! I have no faith that the union will stand up to Hite. They didn’t do it when I was working so why should they do it now? Just wait until the end of August and see how much they give back. I don’t see Hite and his cronies offering to take a 13% pay cut with no raises until 2017.
To play the devil’s advocate: Once you retire, your pension amount is set in stone with no raises, EVER!!! I have never gotten a pension increase in 13 years and I never will. At least there is a chance that teachers will get a pay raise in 2017.