Another Senate bill to eliminate teacher tenure pushed into committee

Intro:	A bill heard by a Missouri Senate Committee includes the elimination of teacher tenure.
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Wrap: Minimum salary for teachers is not the only elimination the General Laws Committee heard Tuesday afternoon, but also another bill to get rid of teacher tenure.

St. Louis County Represenative Jane Cunningham is the sponsor of this bill and says stagnant test scores are the motivation for looking into teacher performance.

Cunningham served on the Ladue School Board for one term and says getting rid of bad teachers is difficult because of the amount of money and time it takes.

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Description: "The decision not to terminate a teacher that they knew they needed too the decision was made because they did not want to spend the money legally."

However, opposition to the bill says teacher tenure in Missouri is already the hardest to recieve with a five year minimum over the average three years.

The committee took no vote on the bill, with just five weeks left.

From the state Capitol, I'm Sherman Fabes, NewsRadio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	The elimination of teacher tenure is a possibility with its inclusion in another bill heard by a Senate Committee.
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Wrap: Another bill eliminating teacher tenure was debated as a solution to bring up Missouri's K-12 test scores.

St. Louis County Represenative Jane Cunningham is the sponsor of this bill and says teacher tenure along with teacher evaluations and performance based pay are all possible solutions to better teaching methods.

However, Mike Wood of the Missouri State Teacher Association says performance based pay is ridiculous.

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Description: "To put teachers across the hallway in competition with each other for increases of salary at their expense just doesn't lend itself to being conducive in a learning enviornment."

On the other hand, Cunningham says she has more good faith in teachers.

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Description: "What a deregatory statement to a professional. To say a difference in pay would make them so they are so jealous they can't work together for the betterment of a child. I'm embarrassed by a statement like that."

The committee took no vote on the bill, with just five weeks left.

From the state Capitol, I'm Sherman Fabes, NewsRadio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	One of the state’s largest teacher’s organization urged a Senate Committee to keep teacher tenure.
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Wrap: Stagnant K-12 test scores push legislators to improve teaching methods, one solution no more teacher tenure.

However, opposition to the bill says teacher tenure is an incentive to being a good teacher and is hard enough to recieve already.

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Description: "Now we're talking about eliminating something that is also one of the longest proccesses to gain just some semblance of security in the state."

Teacher tenure would be replaced with contracts that are no longer than three years.

Senator Chuck Purgason agrees with the bill.

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Description: "It needs to be a simpler process because what is at stake is a kids education."

The committee took no vote on the bill, with just five weeks left.

From the state Capitol, I'm Sherman Fabes, NewsRadio 1120 KMOX.