(ARCHIVED) Firing teachers can be costly, tortuous task

Thank god for unions.. Otherwise we might have competent teachers who aren't raping the students and cops who don't rape, murder and rob from the people they are supposed to protect. Unions are also the problem with the car industry here in America. It is amazing that half of the problems we have in America could be solved by destroying the useless unions and teaching all the ex-union employees how to do a days work to earn a days pay

Soupgoblin @ 2:40 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Let's not forget that there are lemon principals. They were once the bad teachers nobody bothered to fire!

passionate @ 2:38 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Two words - Private school. My kid started elementary school just last year. I had a choice to buy a new car or take my kid to private school. I am a proud owner of a MTA bus pass.

informed individual @ 2:38 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

I am familiar with one of the cases related in the story. The story glosses over it's discussion of the facts. The testimony of many; students, chaparones, and District employees, all contradicted the testimony of the complaintant. The person complaining of Mr. Hafner's misconduct was a fundamentalist Christian, that was later banned from the campus because her continued lies about other teachers that she did not approve. As an ex-administrator, I never had any problem documenting teacher misconduct. The movement to lessen the due process rules, is really an excuse for incompetent administrations.

Doc H @ 2:38 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

How many professions do you know in this country where you don't have to be accountable? Not toooo many...

Dian X @ 2:36 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

I think it's really sad that the system is so slow to get rid of dead weight teachers. As being a student in LA School District I've come in contact with teachers who just weren't teaching me what i needed to learn; its hard to sit in a classroom and not getting taught correctly knowing your have to move on the next level in education; which now for me is college. I know that I am not the first to feel this way but there isn't much as students we can do, and once you do something the case can be dismissed so fast. This leaves us LAUSD students in a unfortunate situation but hopefully in the upcoming years things can change.

TaLeesha Jenkins @ 2:30 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

If you think the UTLA has made it hard for LAUSD to get rid of bad teachers, just imagine the precidents they will set for the EFCA to organize Obama's universal health care doctors and nurses. SCARY?!?!?!

Dino @ 2:29 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Needless to say, there are many incompetent teachers that should be fired. As a matter of fact, I was appalled at some of those you mentioned that were not and have worked with a few that should be. As an educator, may I suggest that you look at more than just the teachers as a means of improving our children's education. This approach is very narrow in scope and fails to look at issues that are just as important if not more. Our society is using teachers as a scapegoat to educational failure. It is an easy out to take away focus from some of the real problems.

Maritza @ 2:29 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Blaming school Administration seems to miss the mark. The teachers/administrators relationship needs move from adversarial to more of a synergistic commitment to improvement. I personally vote to pay for performance and smaller class sizes. Its time to take responsibility and have an honest dialogue about the sad state of edu in California.

Teachers Paid on Performance @ 2:29 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Yes, there are bad teachers. However, they are a few and it is not an epidemic. If we are going to "overhauled" the system. It should start with Cortines and the board members followed by vindictive and incompetent administrators. LAUSD is a hiearchy, everything bad stems from the top down. Teachers in general get the hard end of the stick.

Charles @ 2:24 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

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