With all of the bills out there to curb collective bargaining and tenure for teachers, I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll see more news stories in a vein similar to this one from Idaho or this one out of Wisconsin.
The articles focus on teachers considering early (or earlier) retirement as a result of the uncertainty the bills in those two states are causing for those teachers.
It’s also possible that such changes could also affect who decides to enter the teaching profession as well.
The Idaho story quotes from one superintendent who worries these changes will make the profession less attractive to new teachers. It’s not hard to see why that’s a concern, when you consider the combination of less union representation and job security. Will that make it harder for the systems to find new teachers—or, at least, teachers who want to stay in the systems for a long time?
On the other hand, the possibility of earning higher pay in Idaho and Florida, under new performance pay plans that accompany the respective bargaining and tenure bills in each state, might encourage a different set of folks to enter the profession.
As the profession continues to be reshaped, these are important issues to consider. Readers, what do you think?