Should Iowa education reforms be mandatory?
Related Stories
Gutted. That’s what Democrats said happened to Gov. Terry Branstad’s education reform initiative last week when House Republicans took the centerpiece of the plan and made it voluntary.
Under the proposal, districts could choose to raise starting teacher salaries from $28,000 to $32,000 and create new teacher designations of lead, mentor and master that come with higher salaries and more out-of-classroom responsibilities. Branstad’s plan had made that mandatory.
So was the governor despondent and the plan gutted? “No, no, no, no,” Branstad said. “Frankly, I think (House Republicans) did a great job … this is an important and significant step forward.”
Although the switch may have surprised Democrats, media and other observers, the details were negotiated between the governor and House Republicans long before they were made public Wednesday afternoon.
-u20042.png?1366232523)
Not sure why this writer chose the term “despondant” when referring to Branstads decision. After reading the article and subsequent links, it appears to me, that the dems are “despondant” over the “mandate” being changed to “choice.” Branstad was correct to allow “choice.” It will make it much easier to follow results. We won’t need some board to do a study only to hire some consultant to do a public opinion poll that gives us results peppered with personal opinion and take many months to do. We will know if these reforms work or not by the students rushing to enroll. Giving new teachers a better starting wage in addition to stepped up increases based on results and annual reviews doesn’t seem like a governor that is despondant.