A report by The Education Partnership, a business-led coalition that promotes school reform, concludes that teachers’ contracts are a major obstacle toward improving our public school system. The report says that existing teacher contracts are constructed in such a way that they stifle movements to improve the public school system.

According to the report, teachers’ contracts here “limit instructional time, contain generous paid time off, include incredible health and retirement packages … and limit teacher evaluations.”

Among the report’s recommendations is the creation of a statewide teacher salary scale, one that would incorporate a shift in the approach to how teachers are compensated. It would place a higher priority on skill, rather than seniority – with bonuses for high performance and the pursuit of extra training. This would represent a significant positive change in approach.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to recognize teachers not for the number of years they may have put in, but rather for the awards of teacher excellence they have received or by the achievements of their students?

Teachers’ union leaders don’t like this idea. In fact, they don’t like much of anything to come out of The Education Partnership report.

We would not have expected the teachers’ unions to embrace this report with open arms, but it offers some very interesting recommendations that deserve consideration. The recommendations target a goal shared by all interested parties – that is, to improve our public education system.

Historic tax credits paying off mightily

Grow Smart Rhode Island has received a report from Lipman Frizzell & Mitchell, a Maryland-based consultant, that confirms something we have long known. Rhode Island’s Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credit program is a winner.

So much of the development we are witnessing in and around downtown Providence, as well as in other cities and towns, is a direct result of developers taking advantage of the historic tax credit program. Without it, much of the building – and jobs related to it – would not be happening.

Among the report’s findings:

n The historic tax credit program has resulted in 111 total projects representing $484.9 million in investment.

n The state’s expense is estimated at $145.47 million for the 111 projects. Its investment has been leveraged with private financing and equity investments. Each $1 million of state tax credits leverages $5.47 million in total economic output.

Last year, the General Assembly flirted with the idea of rescinding the tax credit program – concerned that the state was giving away too much. We remind legislators that the state is getting much in return.