By now you know about the lost $13.2 million in grant money to improve math and science education. In his column in tomorrow's Columbian (online today), Don Brunell takes a critical look at what happened.
The NMSI sponsors wanted to pay teachers directly, but Washington’s collective-bargaining laws require that teacher pay be negotiated between the teachers union and school districts.
Since that didn’t work, NMSI pulled the plug, and our teachers and kids got shot in the foot.
Washington Education Association leaders traditionally oppose differential and bonus pay. Instead, WEA continues to pour big bucks into expensive media campaigns to tell voters they just need to pony up more taxes for schools.
Read the whole thing. And if you think that's tough, here's the Columbian's editorial view on it (scroll down to the second item "jeers."
In our state, though, the union wins while students and teachers lose. For sheer accuracy, someone, please, take the “E” out of the WEA.
Yikes.
