Vergara v. California: a case to be watched

In case you haven't noticed, there's been a bit of an upheaval here at the Monterey Herald, so I have not been as diligent with my blog as in the past.

But now that the redesign is behind us -- I know how much you all love our new type -- we can go back to our regular craziness.

 And among the craziness I've missed, of statewide and possibly national importance, is a lawsuit that recently wrapped up in Los Angeles aimed at striking down five California laws governing public schools:

- one which says that all teachers must be considered for tenure within two years;
- one which says that when school districts lay off teachers due to budget cuts, they must do so in order of seniority (often called the "last in, first out" law);
- and three different laws that make firing a bad teacher in California a long and costly endeavor.

One fact about this story peeks my interest:  the fact that the suit is being financed by Silicon Valley-based telecom magnate David Welch. Somehow, it reminds me of Proposition 227, which "overturned" bilingual education nearly 16 years ago. And we know how well that's worked.

Because it's a complicated case and I have not been following it at all, I'm not even going to try to summarize Vergara v. California for you. But I found a very good story that wraps it up nicely. Here it is. Enjoy!