Petition to reward teachers on merit

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Parents and students make their voices heard in a teacher contract controversy.

They want to make sure teachers are assigned to classrooms based on merit and not time served.

Rhode Island's Education Commissioner asked districts to eliminate teacher assignments based on seniority. On Monday, a group of public school parents took their concerns to the Providence Teacher's Union.

Karina Wood organized the petition, and is hoping labor leaders will drop a lawsuit that she says aims to retain seniority-based hiring in the capitol city.

"Sometimes the teacher who's been teaching the longest isn't always the most effective. Sometimes they are, but not always," said Wood.

In August, the Providence Teachers Union filed a suit to prevent the district from eliminating seniority as the main method for filling teacher vacancies. Union officials say the suit's main purpose is to require fair mediation.

"We're protecting our rights and teacher voice. We believe in the collective-bargaining process and we want the opportunity to negotiate," said PTU President Steven Smith.

This fall six pilot schools replaced seniority-based hiring with a merit-based application and interview process, allowing the principal to make staffing decisions. Organizers of the petition want to stop the act of bumping which allows senior teachers to replace union teachers from their positions when layoffs happen.

The petition organizers have asked the teachers union for a response within the week. The union's president says state labor laws require districts to lay off the least senior workers first.