By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

SALEM, Mass. – One of the strongest selling points for nonunion schools is that they can experiment and innovate without union approval.

What’s best for students becomes policy, period.

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Sometimes unionized public schools try to be innovative, but it’s much more difficult to have student-based instruction when labor leaders are ready to veto any idea that doesn’t have something in it for them.

A perfect example comes from the Salem school district, where one K-8 building, Saltonstall School, has been operating with an extended-year schedule for some time.

That means students have 10 extra days in the school year and a one month summer vacation. The schedule is designed to minimize the loss of learning from the previous school year.

The school is a “major draw” for parents in the city, according to the Salem News.

School board members wanted that type of extended-year schedule in several other buildings, but have not been able to negotiate a deal with the teachers union to make that happen, according to the news report. Now disgruntled board members are talking about cancelling the program at Saltonstall.

“Why?” asks a Salem News editorial. “The only reason seems to be that if all schools can’t have it, then none of them will.”

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The newspaper points out that district administrators have figured out a way to fund an extended summer learning program for 160 students, a special summer program for English learning students, and maintain funding for the extended-year program at Saltonstall.

The newspaper desperately wants the school board to maintain the program at Saltonstall for several practical reasons.

“This is a hit that could reverberate beyond Saltonstall’s walls,” the editorial said. “Dismantling a key – and popular – element of the Saltonstall vision will add a black mark to the Salem schools’ image, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see many families drift to the charter school or others outside the system.”

It’s clear that the school board should maintain the successful extended-year schedule at Saltonstall. But the newspaper – and everyone else in Salem – should be directing their anger at the teachers union for standing in the way of a general expansion of the program.

While we don’t have all the details, it’s a fair bet that an agreement can’t be reached because the union wants too much extra compensation for teachers who would be affected.

That means public education in Salem remains adult-based. The most effective school districts are student-based.

But it’s pretty hard to have a student-focused education system when self-serving labor bosses are calling the shots.