How the Teachers Union Controls Education Policy in Annapolis

The Washington Post bemoans the lackluster provisions passed in Governor Martin O’Malley’s education reform bill this past session. In a Sunday editorial, the Post notes how difficult it is to succeed in reform that is opposed by the teachers when the conference committee on a bill includes Prince George’s County Senator Paul Pinsky, who works as a teachers union organizer from Montgomery County.

Yes, the teachers union’s tentacles run deep in Annapolis. Most legislators have a hard time finding employers who allow a 3-month leave of absence to serve during the legislative session. However, for many years, a conscious effort has been made to elect teachers who are granted legislative session time from their Boards of Education so that state education policy can be shaped by the educators themselves.

The Post states: “As one of its last acts before adjourning Monday, the General Assembly approved legislation affecting teacher tenure and compensation in a bid to strengthen its application for federal Race to the Top dollars. The measure extends by a year the time a teacher must work before getting tenure, but opposition from teachers unions resulted in compromises that weakened reforms in how teachers are evaluated. Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's), a union organizer for the Montgomery County Education Association, played a leading role in the conference that worked out the final bill, so it should be no surprise that the requirement that measurable student gains account for 50 percent of judging a teacher's performance was dropped. Unions also won a bigger role in developing the evaluations. Mr. Pinsky took exception in a recent letter on this page to our charge that he has a conflict of interest, but how else to describe a lawmaker shaping legislation that directly affects his employer?”

To read the full editorial, click here. 

In response, Pinsky states that he has been influencing state policy for teachers for over 24 years – so why is the Post a Johnny-come-lately with its charge of “conflict of interest.” To read the entire letter, click here. 

Pinsky’s letter echoes the classic Maryland legislator rebuttal, “Conflict of interest? How does this conflict with my interest?” – the legendary response given by Delegate Joe Staszak, a Baltimore City State Senator and tavern owner, on being asked whether a bill he sponsored benefiting taverns constituted a conflict of interest.