POLITICO Pro: Morning Education 2/25/15

By Caitlin Emma
RAHM HEADS FOR A RUNOFF: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fell short of clinching a second term outright on Tuesday night when he failed to secure a majority of the vote. Recent polls predicted a close race and ultimately, Emanuel pulled in 45 percent of the vote to 34 percent for his Democratic challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia with 84 percent of precincts reporting. Garcia has had the strong backing of the Chicago Teachers Union. Local and national unions have poured their resources into ousting Emanuel, with plans to fight his education reform agenda to the bitter end. Now, Emanuel will now fight for his political career for the next six weeks, Pro Campaigns’ Kyle Cheney reports. And the runoff, which will be held on April 7, isn’t just a knock to the Chicago mayor — but a blow to President Barack Obama, as well. More: http://politi.co/1vxrOia

— Democrats for Education Reform still lauded Emanuel’s “strong showing” and double-digit lead over Garcia. “Mayor Emanuel goes into the runoff as a strong leader with widespread support in Chicago,” the group said in a statement. “His impressive lead over Garcia means that tonight is also a win for everyone who has worked to improve education in our country by keeping what works and getting rid of what doesn’t.”

Read the full story here.

RELEASE: DFER on Chicago Election Results: Education Reform Works for Schools and at the Polls

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
press@dfer.org

Following Mayor Emanuel’s strong showing of over 45 percent of the vote and double-digit lead over his closest competitor, and decisive wins for pro-education reform Aldermen Will Burns, Patrick O’Connor, and Michelle Harris, DFER Executive Director Joe Williams released this statement:

“Tonight’s results are a win for the students in Chicago—the students who are now more likely to graduate from high school, who have greater access to internships and better math and science classes that will help them compete in the new economy, who now will have more than 100 hours more time in class per year, who know they can go to community college tuition-free if they maintain a B average. Tonight is a win for the students who are finally starting to get a fair shot at a good education, regardless of the neighborhood where they’ve been raised.

“Mayor Emanuel goes into the runoff as a strong leader with widespread support in Chicago. His impressive lead over Garcia means that tonight is also a win for everyone who has worked to improve education in our country by keeping what works and getting rid of what doesn’t.

“In this runoff, Chicago will choose between a leader who has made huge strides for students throughout the city and a candidate backed by those who would turn a blind eye to the problems our schools are facing. I have every confidence that Chicago will stand up for the policies that will give our students a fair shot at the education they deserve.

“To every Democratic candidate who knows that we as a party should be the champion of high quality public education, but who has been worried about politics: tonight, we have proof that good policy IS good politics.”

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RELEASE: DFER-IL Applauds Mayor Emanuel’s Education Speech Outlining 2nd Term Priorities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2015

DFER-IL Applauds Mayor Emanuel’s Education Speech Outlining 2nd Term Priorities

“Mayor Emanuel should be commended not only for his record of raising graduation rates and expanding access to pre-K, but for the forward-looking vision he outlined today that would give successful schools more autonomy to offer Chicago students a world-class education,” Rebeca Nieves-Huffman, Illinois State Director of Democrats for Education Reform, said. “Increasing the number of STEM and IB programs will make sure that Chicago students will be in a position to serve as leaders in creating jobs and shaping tomorrow’s economy.  The emphasis on principal recruitment, retention and training will allow successful administrators to break through red tape and cultivate an environment that works best for their students to not only lift their schools, but set a model for all of CPS.”

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Chicago teachers set to take strike authorization vote

(From Associated Press, June 6th, 2012)

CHICAGO | Like an angry spouse who wants to work things out but pre-emptively hires a divorce lawyer, the Chicago Teachers Union will ask members Wednesday to vote on whether they’d be willing to strike if negotiations with the city’s school district break down.

Union officials say they’re voting now and not after the recommendation of an independent fact-finder, which is due in mid-July as part of the contract talks, because they believe they have a better chance of getting 75 percent of the 25,500 members they need to authorize a strike while teachers are still in school, rather than possibly on vacation.

“Everyone that doesn’t vote is essentially voting no,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey, who added that the vote will be held for at least a few days until it becomes clear whether the 75 percent threshold has been reached.

An actual decision to strike could be months away, but the vote comes amid at-times acrimonious negotiations about issues such as teacher pay and the length of the school day.

Chicago Public Schools officials have proposed a five-year deal that guarantees teachers a 2 percent pay raise in the first year, as well as the introduction of “differentiated pay” that could be tied to a host of criteria — including taking hard-to-fill jobs and leadership positions at their schools. Behind a high-profile push by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the district also is proposing lengthening the school day by 10 percent, said CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll.

The union wants a two-year deal that calls for teachers to receive a 24 percent pay raise in the first year and a 5 percent pay raise in the second year. Also, the union wants language in the contract that would reduce each class by about five students. The CPS says the current class size policy will remain as it is, with Carroll noting that state law does not allow teachers to strike over class size anyway.

As the negotiations have gone on, CTU President Karen Lewis and Emanuel have engaged in a war of words. Emanuel once defended the school board’s decision to cancel teacher raises by saying they’d already received a couple of raises, while the students received “the shaft.” Lewis once issued a statement saying that in one meeting with Emanuel, the mayor “exploded and “used profanity, pointed his finger (and) yelled.”

Chicago teachers line up to vote on strike authorization

Union: Vote to be used as leverage in the contract negotiation

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah

(From Chicago Tribune, June 6th, 2012)

Public school teachers in Chicago begin voting today on whether to authorize their union to call a strike if a deal can’t be reached with the district.

Contract talks are ongoing, and the Chicago Teachers Union vice president Jesse Sharkey admitted on Tuesday the vote is being taken to serve as “leverage in the negotiation process.”

Under a 2011 state law, 75 percent of total CTU membership must give their approval before a strike can take place. CTU hopes to top that percentage to send a message about teacher dissatisfaction with reforms being pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools.

Issues in the contract talks are now before an arbitrator, who will issue recommendations July 16. After that, the process calls for steps that would take 45 days before teachers could walk out.

Emanuel and education reform groups have chastised the union for taking the strike vote before the arbitration process is complete. They’ve argued that the intent of the state’s education reform was for final offers to be made public and to allow for a compromise to be reached.

This week, Education Reform Now, a sister organization to Washington D.C.-based Democrats for Education Reform, began running radio ads calling parents to sign a petition against what they called “an early strike vote.” Another national education reform group new to Illinois, Stand for Children, is also running an online petition against the strike vote.

The union and the district remain far apart on critical issues like pay raises and compensation for the longer school day next year.

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