Agreement close on education reform

[April 07, 2011]  SPRINGFIELD -- When lawmakers, teachers and education reformers sit down at the Illinois Capitol on Thursday, the three groups already have a deal on some changes for the classroom.

But many of the larger education issues, including the balance of collective bargaining, the threat of a Chicago teachers’ strike and how to fire a teacher, are not among them.

State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, has been the conduit for discussions on education reform. She began hearings back in January, and talks have progressed in recent weeks. Now Lightford said the three groups are ready for a meeting Thursday.

Lightford said she is pleased with the tone of the talks.

"I think the future of (these reforms) looks good. ... My goal is to have (legislation) out of the Senate by the deadline next week."

Lightford said talk of a possible teachers' strike in Chicago could dominate much of Thursday's meeting.

Education reformers, notably Jonah Edelman with Stand for Children, want to lessen the impact of a threatened walk-out.

"Because of the imbalance in the current way contracts are negotiated, the threat of a strike has been unfortunately used as a trump card to prevent key educational issues from being discussed and progress being made, and the most prominent case in point is student learning time," said Edelman.

Stand for Children is a relatively new education reformer in Illinois. The group came to Illinois last year but has had a presence in other states for years. In Illinois, Stand for Children is lining up with business groups and some conservative-leaning groups to back education reforms.

Teachers' unions are ready for a long fight to keep their right to strike.

"We have a strong stand that the collective bargaining in our state works," said Audrey Soglin, executive director of the Illinois Education Association. "We do not believe they need to be changed. We do not offer any compromises or any other solutions to any of the issues that they raised."

[Illinois Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]