Help for Hub schools

In the last round of contract negotiations the Boston Teachers Union succeeded in forcing the school department to punt on several needed reforms. As negotiations between the BTU and the city again come down to the wire, the overdue reforms should be part of a final deal.

As the Boston Municipal Research Bureau pointed out in a special report this week, public education in Boston is at a crossroads — and the schools need to be doing more to attract and retain families who might otherwise seek an alternative outside the district. That can only be done with the cooperation of the union, which has long fought efforts to disrupt the status quo.

Case in point, the BTU at the moment is knee-deep in efforts to thwart the expansion of charter schools with a boisterous campaign against Question 2 — when its attention would be better focused on helping to make Boston schools more competitive with charters.

Extra learning time is a place to start. Four years ago the school department offered Hub teachers extra pay in exchange for 45 minutes more per day in the classroom. But the union demanded more than what the city was offering, so no deal. Absent an agreement on extended learning time in this contract, most Hub students will be deprived of the extra instruction and enrichment that attracts so many families to charters.

On the issue of teacher compensation, performance-based teacher pay — rather than compensation based purely on seniority and longevity — ought to be expanded.

Meanwhile the city needs to address the issue of tenured teachers who have found themselves without classrooms since the school department gave principals more hiring flexibility. A more intensive teacher evaluation system might help — but it may also require changes in the state tenure law to more easily terminate the weakest teachers.

A reform-oriented contract is warranted on its own, but it is especially important as voters consider whether to expand charters. Not all of the necessary reforms will make it into this contract but these would be a good start.