Felix case, teacher strike mustn't mix
In ways that most surely no one wants, the looming statewide teachers' strike and the effort to meet federal court-ordered improvements to special education have become terribly intertwined.
The best way to untangle this mess is:
A) Move forward firmly on meeting the requirements of the so-called Felix consent order for improvement of services to special education children; and
B) Come up with a solution to the impasse over a teachers contract that keeps the federal court as far away from state business as possible.
Each day that passes without resolution on these two fronts brings us closer to the moment where the entire state public education system falls under the shadow of federal supervision.
No one, least of all Federal Judge David Ezra — who is overseeing the Felix case — wants that to happen. But a close reading of a hearing in federal court last week demonstrates how the various parties are finding themselves unwillingly drawn into that worst-case scenario.
The hearing was on a request from Gov. Ben Cayetano for greater authority to make the decisions and changes he feels are needed to meet the requirements of the Felix decree. The federal court has already granted some extraordinary powers to School Superintendent Paul LeMahieu and Health Director Bruce Anderson to help them meet the Felix requirements. These powers have to do with ignoring certain work rules, hiring and compensation requirements and the like.
Ezra denied Cayetano's request. The governor, he said, already appears to have such powers. And if and when a specific roadblock comes up, Ezra said, he would be more than happy to step in if it directly hampers the state's efforts to meet its Felix goals.
But what about the strike? The state's lawyer insisted the governor's request for extraordinary powers had nothing to do with, nor would be used in connection with, the threatened strike.
Ezra accepted that, but by implication recognized the possibility that the one (Felix) could affect the other (the strike).
"I have no intention of delegating the authority this court may possess to anyone to interfere with any ongoing labor dispute," he said.
If a strike occurs, Ezra said, he might step in if he's convinced there is a direct impact on the state's special education services.
But there you have it. The two issues cannot be kept entirely separate.
So the best way out of this tangle is to satisfy the federal court on Felix and resolve a contract with the teachers. The sooner that happens, the sooner the state can go back to managing its own affairs throughout the education system.
