By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Just because West Virginia’s teachers unions are among the strongest in the nation doesn’t mean they should use their clout to block meaningful education reform.

The teachers unions should leverage their influence to live up to their often repeated slogan “it’s all for the kids.”

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That’s the conclusion the Journal-News came to upon learning that the state’s teachers unions were collectively ranked the 13^th strongest in the country by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

“ .. (T)eachers’ unions do make use of a tremendous amount of political clout in West Virginia. They have managed to stymie attempts to provide incentive pay for good teachers as well as geographic pay differentials that could help some border counties attract and retain educators now lured away by higher-paying states such as Virginia and Maryland,” according to the news site.

“The unions have blocked a state charter school law as well as improved teacher evaluation methods.”

In other words, the Mountain State’s teachers unions have used their powers for evil.

In 2013, they’ll have an opportunity to rethink their positions, the newspaper noted.

“Public school reform is likely to be high on the Legislature’s to-do list when lawmakers gather for the annual regular session in January. If teachers’ union officials are serious about their oft-repeated slogan that ‘it’s all for the kids,’ they will not block reforms necessary to improve schools,” the editorial said.

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We certainly share the hope that they’ll stand aside, but considering the union’s ugly history of self-serving politics, we’re not holding our breaths.