By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

LOS ANGELES – The United Teachers Los Angeles union is at it again.

Earlier this year the union surveyed its members, who “overwhelmingly” returned a verdict of “no confidence” in L.A. school Superintendent John Deasy. This week they released the results of a similar survey with similar results.

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UTLA contends that of the roughly 25 percent of its members who returned the most recent survey, 85 percent rate the superintendent’s performance below average, according to KPCC radio station.

What a shocker!

“In the current environment, the teachers, the classroom people do not feel respected and do not feel like their work is honored and that makes it very difficult for them to do their best work,” UTLA President Warren Fletcher told the station.

In other words, union bosses don’t like the way Deasy runs the district, and are using a sliver of discontent among their members to take another swipe at the superintendent. It’s the same “we’re not valued, administrators are meanies” mentality teachers unions foster is school districts across the nation.

The union’s displeasure with Deasy, however, should be viewed by Los Angeles parents and taxpayers as a sign that he’s doing a good job.

During his tenure, Deasy has cracked down on misbehaving educators, opened up school choice options, implemented more performance-based teacher evaluations, and introduced other critical changes that unions hate. The result has been improved graduation and dropout rates, higher student test scores and fewer student suspensions, the LA Daily News reports.

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The district still has a long way to go, but it certainly seems to be heading in the right direction.

We suspect that’s why leaders of several local nonprofit groups – including the Alliance for a Better Community, the United Way, and the Community Coalition – issued a joint statement condemning the union’s self-serving survey and encouraging the public to remain focused on what’s most important.

“It’s just a shame that a few top officials at United teachers Los Angeles spend so much time picking fights with the superintendent, when our collective focus should be on raising student achievement and preparing children for academic and professional success after high school,” the statement read, according to KPCC.

Even some on the UTLA’s board of directors thought the survey, which cost $25,000, was unnecessary.

“I think it’s something we could have accomplished at a much lesser cost,” board member Ingrid Villeda told the news station. “It was an unnecessary tactic. We should figure out ways that don’t cost so much money to get our point across.”