On pilot school demand, no debate

Hennigan backs mayor’s stance on union pay request

By Michael Jonas  |  May 8, 2005

City Councilor Maura Hennigan promises to poke plenty of holes in the 12-year record of Mayor Tom Menino. But when it comes to Menino's recent dustup over pilot schools with the Boston Teachers Union, the mayor's chief challenger is firmly in his corner.

''I am very strongly supportive of pilots," says Hennigan. BTU president Richard Stutman ''made a bad decision on this, and I think it hurts the union when he does this."

The flap came over a union demand for extra pay for extra hours put in by teachers at pilots -- innovative schools that operate free of many contractual constraints, with added autonomy in budgeting, hiring, and curriculum.

Menino and other school-reform advocates say the proposal undermines the flexibility that is key to the success of pilot schools, which are staffed entirely by teachers who have volunteered to work under this alternative school structure.

Though Hennigan seconds the mayor's stand, she is quick to not simply sing Hizzoner's praises (Menino will have plenty of campaign cash to fund his own promotion). Hennigan maintains that the bigger promise of pilot schools -- that they would be models for innovation that could be replicated throughout the system -- has not been met.

''Let's not forget what they're there for, and how this administration has failed miserably at making sure all schools can provide a great educational experience," says Hennigan. She points to the K-8 structure used by many pilots as a change that the city has been too slow to adopt across the board.

Hennigan made her campaign kickoff from the steps of the School Department headquarters, while Menino has asked to be judged on his record on school improvement. Substantive debate on a range of school issues could be a healthy ingredient in the mayoral campaign mix.

Michael Jonas can be reached at jonas@globe.com.