In a rare demonstration against arbitrary union rules, about 100 students from Nova High School in Seattle walked out of classes on Tuesday to protest the loss of two young teachers from their school.  They were joined by Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant. The two popular teachers were particularly successful at working with at-risk students, but arbitrary staff ratio and union seniority rules forced their re-assignment to another school.

Jack Darling, a senior at Nova, said the cuts mean he will lose a relationship with a trusted adult. He dropped out of school in eighth grade. But once he got to Nova, the teachers gave him a reason to return every year. He said the teachers were always asking “What do you need?”

Lydia Wynn is one of the teachers at Nova targeted for reassignment. She is a math teacher who has formed strong, supportive relationships with her students. Yet Ms. Wynn’s teaching position is at risk because of union requirements. She says:

“I’ve struggled with this [news] a lot. You spend so much time preparing, and then to have them ripped away---it’s horrible.”

Union rules prevent school principals from hiring and retaining the best teachers on staff. As a small public high school of only 20 teachers, the loss of two teachers at Nova will affect all 260 students. These union practices also break important bonds formed at the beginning of the year between teacher and students. These bonds can make all the difference in the lives of at-risk youth, like Jack Darling.    

Students at Nova High and Councilmember Sawant are right to stand up to these regressive and self-defeating union policies. This is not a debate about money---the district has a budget of $955 million, $97 million more than last year---it’s about power.  With $18,000 per student, more than the tuition at many private schools, there is plenty of public money to keep Ms. Wynn and other top teachers at Nova High.  

Families at charter public schools don’t face these harsh union policies, and many Seattle District employees avoid the union by sending their children to private schools.  That leaves the city’s low-income families and at-risk youth to deal with the politics, strikes and conflict of a union-dominated system.  If Nova High became a public charter school, its vulnerable students would not face the loss of good teachers.  In fact, if families had real choices in public education, no one would.