Alex Bloom of the Arizona Republic summarizes legislative changes in the flexibility AZ school districts have with teacher contracts. Districts:
1. Do not have to honor seniority when they lay off or rehire teachers.
2. Do not have to honor the April 15 deadline for notifying teachers of contracts for the following academic year.
3. Can lower salaries for selected teachers. They are not required to make equitable salary reductions for all tenured teachers.
“The bottom line is teachers need to be retained based on their achievement, not on how long they’ve been at a job,” said Representative Rick Crandall, R-Mesa, AZ.
Tying teacher salaries to student achievement is one of the pillars of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s guidelines for the $4.3 billion “Race to the Top” Federal education grants.
“This is where the United States is going and we’re just with the early leaders,” Crandall said.
At least one AZ teacher union has announced procedures to oppose revisions of this education statute.
Bloom, A. Law changes way teachers contract with districts, Arizona Republic, November 23, 2009.