Catherwood LibraryILR School

A proposal from the Boston schools' Superintendent, Carol Johnson, has the the Boston Teachers union in an uproar. Johnson has proposed extending the school day an extra hour, without compensation teachers, requiring mote training without pay, getting rid of layoff and seniority provisions and tying salary increases to job performance. She says that this is the way to improve failing schools and that hey do not have the money to compensate teachers for the extra time. The union fired back, saying that the proposals were not about fixing the schools, but about budget concerns. 12 Boston schools have been identified as failing, and Johnson has already said she would require teachers at some of those schools to reapply to their jobs. Under new negotiating laws, superintendents and unions have 30 days to negotiate. Unions then have the right to appeal through an arbitration-like process. If not agreement can be reached, an education commissioner could decide. Analysts say that this will be one of the first tests of the new system, and a chance to see if it will work.