CPS's problems: Monopoly and Teacher's Unions

An Op/Ed in today's Tribune by Eden Martin. There are all good points to consider if you want to read the whole thing, but I want to hi-lite the last two points:

4. If Chicago were somehow given more money to spend on schools, in the short-run nothing would happen to teachers' pay, because their salaries are set for the next four years by the terms of the current labor agreement. In the longer run, nothing would happen except that Chicago would pay most of the same teachers more money to teach the same subjects in the same way—without quality controls, without pay differentiation based on merit, without the ability to replace bad teachers. Education would not be improved. But the teachers union would be happy. The union would collect teachers' dues and continue to make healthy contributions to the campaign funds of their favorite politicians on both sides of the aisle. Life would go on as usual, it would just cost a little more.

5. We want to improve Chicago's schools as much as Sen. Meeks. But improving the city's public schools requires more than money. It requires breaking up the monopoly. It requires choice on the part of school families, and competition among schools for students and the government dollars they bring. Charter schools generally outperform traditional CPS schools in their neighborhoods. Choice and competition will motivate school principals and teachers to focus on getting better results. Choice will result in rewarding school employees when they succeed, and weeding them out when they fail. It will make people accountable. Trying to improve the schools by feeding the monopoly more money is a mistake. It hasn't worked, and it won't work. Worse, it's a mistake that diverts attention from what will work.

Via Newsalert!