Alabama Governor Bob Riley wants to fire bad teachers. Last Thursday he put forward a plan for tenure reform to streamline the process of getting rid of incompetent teachers. The current system in Alabama for firing a tenured teacher requires multiple hearings before the local school board, a state commission and then a circuit court. Riley's proposal would replace these hearings with mandatory, binding arbitration. The governor also is proposing eliminating tenure for administrators such as principals. The response from teacher's unions and administrators' groups has been remarkably conciliatory. "We want a hearing process that either side comes into with an equal chance of winning or losing," said Paul Hubbert, head of the Alabama Education Association, "If that is what the Governor proposes, we will not have a problem."

If you have any doubt that the process of removing incompetent teachers needs to be streamlined, look no further than New York City. Two weeks ago (in TQB Vol. 5, No. 3, issued January 23, 2004), we reported on the existence of "rubber rooms" in New York City schools: classrooms where teachers who are under investigation for malfeasance sit and teach no students, even while being paid in full. This week brings the story of Elihu McMahon, who has spent 12 out of the last 15 years in such a rubber room, drawing $600,000 in salary from the city for doing absolutely nothing. The 69-year-old McMahon is currently drawing $77,000 a year for his "light teaching load." What did McMahon do to get such a swell gig? Well, he has been cited for insensitive and racist remarks, insubordination, incompetent teaching, improper grading, and sexual harassment. Incidents like this may be why Union President Randi Weingarten and Joel Klein are agreeing to look for more streamlined ways to dismiss bad teachers.