Politics & Government

SEA Urges Board to Fight Restoration of Malloy's Education Bill

As Governor Malloy continues to push for his reforms, concern grows among local teachers.

As the state legislature prepares to debate the modified education reform bill now known as Substitute Senate Bill 24, the Simsbury Education Association Executive Board and Building Representatives are urging the Simsbury Board of Education to fight replacement of the substitute bill.

Henry James art teacher Paul Kulikowski addressed the board Tuesday night with a prepared statement on behalf of the SEA to urge their support of the Substitute SB 24 over Gov. Malloy's original bill.

"As the new bill heads to other committees and then on to the state Senate for debate, the Governor and wealthy special-interest business groups from both in and out of the state, have begun an aggressive media campaign in an effort to replace the newly substituted bill with the Governor’s original plan," Kulikowski said.

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Members of the SEA are supportive of several elements of the substitute bill, indluding: the creation of 1,000 new slots for pre-K students in the state; the provisions for funding schools that are most in need; the continuation of local town control over public schools; ensuring that collective bargaining will be in place to enhance teaching and learning conditions; and improving the teacher evaluation system, according to the statement.

SEA members are concerned about Malloy's Education Reform Tour and advocacy from special interest groups to revert to the governor's original SB24 bill.

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"We believe the original plan is terribly flawed, and we hope the Board and the public will look carefully at the negative impact this bill would have on our Simsbury teachers and on our schools," Kulikowski said.

"I feel like maybe we've been a little asleep at the switch on this issue that you've raised," Board member Michael Goman said. "Perhaps it's a fair comment to make that we are not engaged enough on this issue."

Goman proposed a meeting between the board and representatives with the SEA to discuss the matter further.

Both Superintendent of Schools Diane Ullman and board chair Lydia Tedone voiced support of the SEA and the efforts of Simsbury teachers to consistently provide a quality education for the district's students.

"It is probably the most controversial piece of the bill," Tedone said.

According to the Governor's website, the original SB 24 includes six elements of reform that Malloy hopes to introduce:

  • Enhance families’ access to high-quality early childhood education opportunities
  • Authorize intensive interventions and enable the supports necessary to turn around Connecticut’s lowest-performing schools and districts
  • Expand the availability of high-quality school models, including traditional schools, magnets, charters, and others
  • Unleash innovation by removing red tape and other barriers to success, especially in high-performing schools and districts
  • Ensure that our schools are home to the very best teachers and principals – working within a fair system that values skill and effectiveness over seniority and tenure
  • Deliver more resources, targeted to districts with the greatest need – provided that they embrace key reforms that position our students for success

"The conversation isn't about blaming teachers and I want to make that very clear," Tedone said. "Don't blame the teachers for the achievement gap.  It's a solution, this teacher evaluation piece, to narrowing if not closing an achievement gap."

"We as board members, owe it to our communities, our public school system, and more importantly our students," Tedone said.

Kulikowski told the board the SEA is also concerned about the elimination of the current teacher tenure law because it would "threaten the very core of the collaborative work our teachers do."

"We hope the members of the Board of Education will take a long careful look at the Governor’s attempt to resurrect the original Senate Bill 24, and use your positions to fight the proposals that could have a devastating impact on the teachers and students of Simsbury," Kulikowski said.


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