Another chapter in the teacher evaluation saga

Asked if he would sign an education reform package if it doesn’t include changes to how teachers earn tenure, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was blunt.

“No,” he said.

Whether that means tying teacher evaluations to earning tenure or speeding up how long it takes to fire a tenured teacher, both which the governor has proposed, was unclear.

He did, however, tell reporters at the state Capitol complex Friday that an education reform package that fails to include the use of evaluations for accountability is unsatisfactory.

“Evaluations, therefore, have to have meaning and therefore any package of reforms that doesn’t reference that is unacceptable,” he said.

Whether that means that he will veto an education reform bill that doesn’t require tenure decisions to be based on superior evaluations remains to be seen.

The leaders of the Education and Appropriations committees have expressed doubt whether using the agreed upon evaluation system, that has yet to be rolled out in any district, makes sense without first making sure it’s a good barometer of teacher quality.