Teachers union votes no confidence in Bergeson

In an unprecedented move during a heated race for state schools chief, members of Washington’s powerful teachers union Friday lodged a vote of no confidence against the 12-year incumbent.

Concerns over the high-stakes WASL and what the Washington Education Association calls Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson’s lack of leadership in addressing those concerns prompted the nearly unanimous vote during the union’s annual meeting, which drew about 1,200 members to the Spokane Convention Center.

“We’re fed up,” said Debbie Rose, a fourth-grade teacher at Colbert Elementary School in Mead.

Union branches across the state, including the Spokane Education Association, have issued similar resolutions in the past weeks as part of the WEA’s effort to oust its past president in the November election. The WEA has endorsed Richard Semler, who spoke at Friday’s meeting. Three other people are also running for state superintendent.

In a phone interview Friday, Bergeson, who learned of the vote when contacted by a reporter, said she will continue her work and her support for the WASL.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed to have something like that happen, because I work my heart out every day for kids and teachers, and I will continue to do that,” she said. “I just will work twice as hard to win the election and come back and support changes in No Child Left Behind, which is something I’ve been fighting with for six years.”

The union’s complaints about the WASL include its cost, the time it takes from other instruction, resources redirected from other subjects such as music and art, and questions over its usefulness toward improving learning.

The Class of 2008 is the first class required to pass the test to graduate.

That requirement is “what the Legislature put in place,” Bergeson said. “It still amazes me that people think I invented that.”

Students with disabilities must take the same test as other students, a common gripe among teachers but something Bergeson emphasized she can’t change until Congress changes the No Child Left Behind Act.

“I can’t do away with the tests that are required by the federal government, but I can streamline that and make it less burdensome for teachers, and I’m in the processing of implementing that,” Bergeson said.

A new version of the WASL will be used starting next spring. Among other changes, the test will be shorter for grades 3 through 8, Bergeson said.

For the union, the changes are too little, too late.

“The educators who took that vote are aware of the changes that are in store,” said Rich Wood, WEA spokesman.

“The fundamental issue is that it’s a single, high-stakes test and it’s being used inappropriately.”

Bev Schaefer, a fifth-grade teacher at Otis Orchards Elementary School, said she voted for the resolution because of her concerns about the WASL.

Bergeson has “had the time to fix things, and she hasn’t fixed them,” Schaefer said.

And Schaefer and her colleagues are adamant it’s the WASL – not the concept of standards and testing – they oppose.

“As teachers, we believe in high standards, but it’s just gotten out of hand,” Rose said.

“It’s a very high-stakes test for a 9-year-old.”

Bergeson said that she understands “this is a very hard time for teachers” and that her support for them is unwavering.

“I just know a lot about how to fix this, and I want to work together to do this,” she said.

The WEA was set to wrap up its conference tonight.

It began Thursday evening with a keynote speech by Gov. Chris Gregoire, whom the union has endorsed for re-election.

Moments after the WEA’s vote against Bergeson on Friday, Gregoire’s office issued a news release touting Thursday’s speech and quoting union members commending Gregoire for her work on education.