This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Public policy prescriptions that infuriate both the left and the right are not always on target, but it's frequently a promising attribute. And in the case of education in Utah, it's what is sorely needed.
Recently on these pages the Tribune's editorial board extolled the sanctity, permanence and desirability of the current and traditional public school model. Meanwhile, also in these pages, Christine Cooke of the Sutherland Institute triumphantly proclaimed that a material increase in school funding (with its concomitant tax increase) were not needed at all. Both viewpoints are profoundly wrong.
The editorial board and defenders of the current traditional public education system blithely ignore the elephant in the room that is the teachers unions. Here is the inconvenient truth: The interests of teachers (and their union) frequently conflict with the interests of students. This mostly relates to the retention and promotion of teachers based on something other than merit. (Most often in public schools teachers are promoted, paid and retained based on seniority and/or the granting of tenure).
The difficulty in replacing teachers who have burned out or were marginal performers to begin with is a key factor in public schools operating below their potential. No one is advocating the removal of all due process in a job decision, but it is currently too difficult to make personnel decisions in education. Though it was ultimately overturned on appeal, the case of Vergara v. California argued that the granting of tenure after two years as well as basing layoffs on seniority was a violation of the students' civil rights. The case demonstrates sound reasoning that has sparked similar litigation elsewhere. Though the traditional public school system is no longer a monopoly in many states including Utah, its continued dominate presence still impedes incentives to innovate and improve.
Finland has some of the best school systems in the world. As you might imagine, education is quite different there. In Finland, teachers are viewed as elite professionals, like doctors or lawyers. They are paid like doctors and lawyers. But the expectations for teachers are much higher, too. Marginal teachers, much less bad teachers, are not tolerated. In Finland, being admitted to the school of education at its universities has the same prestige as being admitted to law school or medical school in the U.S. The expression "you get what you pay for" is frequently valid.
Of course, even under the current education system, there are brilliant teachers who saw the profession as a calling, and didn't care about the compensation. But viewing the big picture, it is folly to say that our overall population of teachers are as capable and brilliant as our populations of doctors and elite lawyers. But given the importance of education, they should be. Incentives matter. To attract elite individuals for the crucial job of teaching, we need to offer elite salaries.
The right believes that school choice and vouchers are a panacea that can give excellent education with the same paltry resources currently being expended on education. They are wrong. The left continues to support the teachers unions with unquestioning fealty when nearly everyone else can see that they promote policies counter to the interests of students. I am unaware of any teachers union that has championed for the so called "grand bargain," that being much higher pay and materially less job security. I also note that for the most part, doctors and elite lawyers have not seen the need to unionize, and indeed they are eager to rid their ranks of inferior performers that denigrate the reputation of their professions.
The left needs to acknowledge that there is no reason that every child couldn't be issued an education voucher, and the distinction between "public" schools and voucher/charter schools eliminated. The Sutherland Institute enthusiastically advocates against materially higher taxes and resources for schools. Sutherland's usual sentiment is that the wisdom of Utah's Republican leaders is always spot-on. In this case, that just won't cut it.
Emulating Finland will not be fast or easy. But the general principle, of higher pay for higher expectations, is highly desirable and immediately applicable.
Eric Rumple lives in Sandy. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and is the author of the novel "Forgive Our Debts."