The Dance of the Lemons

In New York City, it's "just about impossible" to fire a bad teacher, says Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. The new union contract offers some relief, but it's still about 200 pages of bureaucracy. "We tolerate mediocrity," said Klein, because "people get paid the same, whether they're outstanding, average or way below average."

How "just about" impossible is it to fire a teacher in the NYC school system? In the last four years it was finally able to terminate only two of the 80,000 teachers employed.

Here's just one example from New York City: It took years to fire a teacher who sent sexually oriented e-mails to "Cutie 101," a 16-year-old student. Klein said, "He hasn't taught, but we have had to pay him, because that's what's required under the contract."

Only after six years of litigation were they able to fire him. In the meantime, they paid the teacher more than $300,000.

Things are looking up, though, because when the new contract takes effect it will be easier to terminate teachers who are sex offenders.

Klein said he employs dozens of teachers who he's afraid to let near the kids, so he has them sit in what are called rubber rooms. This year he will spend $20 million dollars to warehouse teachers in five rubber rooms. It's an alternative to firing them.

How do they handle the others? The teachers that can't or won't teach and need to be canned but can't be because it's impossible to fire them?

The principal has two other options: give up and continue to put up with the teacher or, encourage the teacher to transfer to another school.

They even have a name for the latter. It's called the dance of the lemons.

Neal Boortz points to this Special Report from ABC News: Stupid in America (How Lack of Choice Cheats Our Kids Out of a Good Education) and Stossel's reply to some of the hate mail he's received since it aired.

I wonder if any of the mail originated from Florida?