Earlier in the year the Fordham Institute released a report "Stretching the School Dollar - A Brief for State Policymakers", that contained 15 right-wing ideological reform ideas, some of which we are currently seeing being implemented in Ohio.
- End "last hired, first fired" practices.
- Remove class-size mandates.
- Eliminate mandatory salary schedules.
- Eliminate state mandates regarding work rules and terms of employment.
- Remove "seat time" requirements.
- Merge categorical programs and ease onerous reporting requirements.
- Create a rigorous teacher evaluation system.
- Pool health-care benefits.
- Tackle the fiscal viability of teacher pensions.
- Move toward weighted student funding.
- Eliminate excess spending on small schools and small districts.
- Allocate spending for learning-disabled students as a percent of population.
- Limit the length of time that students can be identified as English Language Learners.
- Offer waivers of non-productive state requirements.
- Create bankruptcy-like loan provisions.
Some familiar stuff, mostly centered on teacher bashing and erosion of the profession. The National Education Policy Center took a look at this Fordham report, and let's just say their findings were not kind.
One category I might have included above is that at least two of the recommendations embedded in the report argue for stretching the school dollar, so-to-speak, by effectively taxing school employees. That is, setting up a pension system that requires greater contribution from teacher salaries, and doing the same for health care costs. This is a tax – revenue generating (or at least a give back). This is not stretching an existing dollar. This is requiring the public employees, rather than the broader pool of taxpayers (state and/or local), to pay the additional share.
Below is the report in full.
Unproven and Unsubstantiated Dollar- Stretching State Policies