By Lynne K. Varner
(From Seattle Times, February 21st, 2012)
The Washington Education Association’s rigid anti-education-reform stance puts the Democratic Party at risk. A longterm political relationship hits a rough patch.
Major Democratic funder Nick Hanauer’s recent email blasting Democratic lawmakers for failing to buck the teachers union and push for education reforms will go down as the tough-love message heard around the state.
“It is impossible to escape the painful reality that we Democrats are now on the wrong side of every important education-reform issue,” wrote Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist, to other party faithful.
“Today, the (teachers union) is literally strangling our public schools to death with an almost infinite number of institutionalized rules that limit change, innovation and excellence.”
Hanauer also announced plans to meet with Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna.
Washington Education Association President Mary Lindquist fired off a public letter criticizing Hanauer for daring to think for himself. (Having the teachers union come out flailing here did not help the Democrats’ argument that they’re not a political subsidiary of the WEA.)
If Lindquist and Democrats mean to shush Hanauer and other critics, they are purposefully ignoring the donkey in the room, which is this: a growing number of Democrats are unhappy with their elected leaders’ refusal to go big on education reforms.
Reformers watched in dismay as Democratic leaders blocked key reforms including exchanging an outdated seniority-based layoff policy for one based on performance and overhauling the billion-dollar health-insurance program for school employees.