Poll: Should Teachers Be Hired Based on Seniority or Performance?

The State Labor Relations Board will take up the issue of teacher hiring practices in Portsmouth after a judge ruled in favor of teachers. A hearing is now scheduled for Dec. 15. 

Last Wednesday, a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the teachers' unions, which argued the issue must be taken to the State Labor Board, reported The Providence Journal. 

At issue, being debated between the Portsmouth School Committee and the Portsmouth National Education Association (NEA), is whether teachers should be hired based on seniority or criteria established by the school board. 

"It (the judge's decision) wasn't a surprise to me," said School Committee member Dave Croston on Monday. 

The school committee must now decide whether or not to seek an appeal of the decision. "Nothing has been decided at this time," Croston said. "There's a great deal of confusion surrounding this issue...We're just asking for clarity." 

The school committee has sought some "clarity" from state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist. While Gist has not written on Portsmouth's practices, she has recently issued an advisory regarding teacher seniority in Lincoln schools. 

"There exists no rational link between seniority per se and teacher performance," Gist wrote. 

The entire advisory letter can be seen at right. 

What do you think about this issue? Should teachers be hired based on performance or seniority?

Tell us your thoughts in the poll and comment section below!