Teachers Unions

Seems that the new D.C. Public School Chancellor has received something of a rude awakening, according to an article in my local free paper:

Rhee spoke of an employee who failed to execute some paperwork properly. As a result, she said, two students were sent to a private school for special education at a cost of $227,000 each for a year.

Rhee said that when she talked the aide, the employee responded, "I'm going to bring my lawyer."

When Rhee told her that the errors had cost the school system a half a million dollars a year, the response was, "You need to understand that I am very busy."

Rhee answered that she should look for another job if she is unable to perform her current one properly. "The woman looked at me as if I were speaking a different language," Rhee said.

Rhee said this incident is one of the reasons she has asked for legislation to designate central office employees as "at will," removing their civil-service-type protections.

Rhee quoted a teachers union official's complaint, as stated in a Washington Post article, that Rhee wants to fire low-performing teachers. "Isn't that what you want me to do?" she answered, and the Rotarians applauded. "We have created a system where there is an obligation to employ people who are incompetent or unable to do their jobs," Rhee said.

I admire her courage in taking these guys on. Teachers unions, incidentally, donate overwhelmingly to one political party.