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On pilot school demand, no debate
Michael Jonas
Sunday, May 8, 2005
City Councilor Maura Hennigan promises to poke plenty of holes in
the 12-year record of Mayor Tom Menino. But when it comes to
Menino's recent dustup over pilot schools with the Boston Teachers
Union, the mayor's chief challenger is firmly in his corner.
''I am very strongly supportive of pilots," says Hennigan. BTU
president Richard Stutman ''made a bad decision on this, and I think
it hurts the union when he does this."
The flap came over a union demand for extra pay for extra hours
put in by teachers at pilots -- innovative schools that operate free
of many contractual constraints, with added autonomy in budgeting,
hiring, and curriculum.
Menino and other school-reform advocates say the proposal
undermines the flexibility that is key to the success of pilot
schools, which are staffed entirely by teachers who have volunteered
to work under this alternative school structure.
Though Hennigan seconds the mayor's stand, she is quick to not
simply sing Hizzoner's praises (Menino will have plenty of campaign
cash to fund his own promotion). Hennigan maintains that the bigger
promise of pilot schools -- that they would be models for innovation
that could be replicated throughout the system -- has not been
met.
''Let's not forget what they're there for, and how this
administration has failed miserably at making sure all schools can
provide a great educational experience," says Hennigan. She points
to the K-8 structure used by many pilots as a change that the city
has been too slow to adopt across the board.
Hennigan made her campaign kickoff from the steps of the School
Department headquarters, while Menino has asked to be judged on his
record on school improvement. Substantive debate on a range of
school issues could be a healthy ingredient in the mayoral campaign
mix.
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