Oregon Education Official Advocates Wage Theft

When Oregon Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew states that educators must meet higher goals and standards without providing the necessary funding and resources he is essentially advocating wage theft. 

A Proposal for Teacher Action During the Upcoming Oregon Legislative Session

I have often thought that the best way for Oregon teachers to get the attention of legislators, bureaucrats, and the public would be for ALL teachers to work only their contracted hours. Further, they would not take any work home, nor would they participate in any school activities for which they do not receive financial compensation. Legislators, bureaucrats, and the public might then see to what degree teachers subsidize the public education system through "donated" labor and how much the public education system relies on teachers to donate time to accomplish all of the tasks asked of them to meet the educational needs of children. What better time to do this than while the state legislature is in session and deliberating on how much it will spend on K-12 education? If the legislature funds K-12 education at the minimum level recommended by the Quality Education Commission, then teachers can go back to "donating" additional time if they like. If the legislature fails to meet the funding level determined as minimally adequate by the QEM they should continue to work only the hours they are bound to by contract and for which they are financially compensated. Teachers have been enablers for too long.

Repurposing of Existing Resources Is Inadequate

Oregon Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew advocates that the closing of the achievement gap can be accomplished, "mostly by repurposing existing resources," according to Susan Nelson in The Sunday Oregonian. Crew's belief is absurd. It can't be done. Mr. Crew's principal role at this time should be to lobby state legislators to fund K-12 education in Oregon at the the base level recommended by the Quality Education Commission.  Deputy Superintendent of Public Education Rob Saxton and Superintendent of Public Education Governor John Kitzhaber should be doing the same. (http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2013/01/susan_nielsen_for_rudy_crew_to.html)

Bonus Pay: Elitist and Inequitable

Responding again to the article in the January 25th The Oregonian.(http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/01/tying_teacher_pay_to_test_scor.html#incart_m-rpt-2)

Teachers do not teach in isolation and they can't succeed without classified staff such as instructional aides, custodians, secretaries, and cooks. Any financial bonus system for student success is inherently inequitable if it excludes classified staff.

Equitable Funding before Bonus Payments

The headline story in the January 25th The Oregonian reports about the payment of bonuses to some teachers in some school districts in Oregon. (http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/01/tying_teacher_pay_to_test_scor.html#incart_m-rpt-2)

I believe that it is wrong to even consider paying performance-based bonuses to educators in some schools until there is equity in funding for all schools.