Hey, we cant fire the superintendent for gross misconduct, misappropriation of funds, and lack of candor. Why should teachers be any different?

I thought tenure was a mechanism for professors to research their field and stay current. When did it start applying to primary grade levels and who initiated it?

Malloy is stabbing the public sector unions in the back with this one, but alas it won't ever see the light of day. Lots of talk, zero action. Tenure, along with public sector unions should be relegated to the trash heap of failed public policy.

for starters, as long as the system dismisses teachers and yes administrators in the following manner, it merely sends the unworthy of ever being associated with education again down the road to the next unsuspecting town...

*** "resign and we will NOT put anything negative in your permanent file nor shall we demand that your credentials be revoked"

This is exactly what transpired with the past TWO Newtown High School choral music teachers. This manner of dealing with problems is no less than criminal. These two, also got to lounge at home and watch Oprah with FULL PAY for a year while on "administrative leave"

Let's get the government, unions, tenure, etc...out of our schools. These things do not benefit the kids or their education. It only makes for a complex system that costs a lot of money. The main focus of educating the kids gets lost in this complicated mess.

What if teachers were employed "at will" like everybody else? There would be massive gains up front and reduced cost. The union keeps forgetting that it's not about them, its about the children.

The problem is that teachers' performance isn't really quantifiable in the same way that that of people in other fields is. If one was a realtor, one would sell more houses; if one was a lawyer, one would win more cases; if one was a broker, one would match or beat the market. If it were quantifiable, I'd agree that being "at will" wouldn't be the worst idea. The problem is that it is absolutely NOT quantifiable by things like test scores. Those are much more a function of a group of kids: if a teacher got a strong class with supportive home lives and a higher than average set of standardized test scores, that class would do well.
Because it isn't quantifiable, that means that teacher employment must be left to the discretion of a local school's administration (given to being capricious, inaccurate, vindictive, politically biased one way or another, etc) or to a tenure system. Which, admittedly, has some flaws. Though, in a good district, those flaws are few fewer in both number and severity than people on the outside might think.

It doesn't make much sense to me that, in general, public sector employees have better overall compensation packages than the private sector employees who pay for it all. Taxpayers need to have their "Thidwick" moment

...And teacher performance CAN be quantified and they CAN be held to account. Other States legislatures are tackling this exact issue. Who the hell would fund an organization where permormance and results are not quantifiable? Insanity.

Held to account, yes. Quantified, no. Yes, other states attempt this, but it doesn't and won't work. People not in the business who don't know any better think it can be tied to standardized test scores, but it can't (accurately). This would be akin to me thinking that I can armchair invest better than you: it's just buy low, sell high right? That's all there is to it!! Simple as pie.
But of course, it's easy for me to armchair quarterback investing. Not so easy for me to actually know anything about it, or be good at it.
Business people thinking schools should be run as a business would be as foolish as educators thinking business should be run like schools. They are distinct entities with disparate goals, and shouldn't have much to do with each other.