COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is urging Republican legislative leaders to adopt language in the state budget bill creating a teacher merit pay system -- similar to one in Senate Bill 5, a controversial collective bargaining law Jackson has criticized as an attack on public workers.

Jackson, a Democrat, joined Cleveland Schools CEO Eric Gordon and school board chair Denise Link in writing a letter Monday asking Republican Gov. John Kasich and top legislative leaders to keep the merit pay language as well as a handful of other provisions in the state budget.

The letter says that the House provisions "move significantly toward establishing a fair and responsible way of ensuring that we are doing what is needed for Ohio's school children."

Cleveland Teachers Union head David Quolke said he was shocked by the letter, which he said was another example of politicians blaming teachers for problems in schools.

Along with a new merit pay system for teachers, Jackson's letter urged lawmakers to include language allowing districts to dump poor-performing teachers, remove seniority as the determining factor in deciding layoffs and bar collective bargaining in charter schools.

What the schools letter says

A letter from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland schools CEO Eric Gordon and school board Chairwoman Denise Link urges Gov. John Kasich and state lawmakers to adopt language in the state budget that would:

• Establish a framework for evaluating the performance of teachers and principals.

• Allow districts to dump poor-performing teachers.

• Remove seniority as the determining factor in layoffs.

• Bar collective bargaining in charter schools.

Previous coverage

Teachers rush to sign contracts as effects of new collective-bargaining law and budget problems loom (

Group opposed to Senate Bill 5 says it has enough signatures for a voter referendum (

New campaign launched to uphold Senate Bill 5; Gov. Kasich, other GOP leaders to be actively involved (

"The general bent of it is this is giving us the greatest opportunity to educate children in the shortest period of time," Jackson said in a phone interview Tuesday. "That was what my concern was, not trying to support the House or the Senate."

All of those provisions were added by majority House Republicans and stripped out by majority Senate Republicans, and are among dozens of items being negotiated by top lawmakers behind closed doors this week in a budget conference committee. A budget deal is supposed to be reached sometime next week.

The letter also asks lawmakers to give first crack at empty school buildings owned by the district to high-performing charter schools instead of any charter schools, as a current provision in the budget bill does.

Jackson's stance on the merit pay provision puts him at odds with fellow Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro, who called it "an end-around to usurp the will of the people" last week during a news event. Statehouse Democrats are upset about the House's merit pay provision, saying it's too similar to one included in Senate Bill 5, the controversial new collective bargaining law likely to land on the November ballot.

Jackson said he doesn't see a contradiction in supporting the merit pay language and being against Senate Bill 5.

The mayor, who has control of Cleveland schools, said he couldn't wait until a vote in November to get in place a provision that he feels will help children.

"You have to make decisions, and my decision is to move with children," he said. "We are in concurrence with these provision as I've outlined, whether they are in Senate Bill 5 or not. If I could have legislated it differently, I would have."

Union head Quolke blasted the letter as "business as usual," saying he was especially disappointed because the union had worked recently with new Cleveland Schools CEO Gordon on a teacher development and evaluation system. A spokesman for Gordon did not return a call for comment.

"This is 'let's blame the unions and blame the teachers and let's have it mandated for us by the legislature because we don't want to try to work it out with them,'" Quolke said. "It's very, very disappointing in my eyes and I would imagine in the eyes of our members."

He also said he was surprised and disappointed to see Jackson support the merit pay provisions when he has spoken out against Senate Bill 5, which includes a number of restrictions on collective bargaining for public employees.

The Cleveland Teachers Union and the district are in midst of reopened contract negotiations that cover the final two years of a three-year contract. However, those negotiations only concern wage and benefits -- not working conditions.

Jackson said he would "love" to negotiate with the union rather than urge lawmakers in Columbus to adopt the provisions.

"Don't you think I'd rather do that than write a group of Republicans who are taking my money every day?" said Jackson, referring to deep cuts in local government funding included in the proposed state budget.

State Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, refrained from criticizing Jackson's letter, saying that the mayoral control of Cleveland schools gives Jackson "a unique and different vantage point" on education issues.

However, she said it's a mistake to put merit pay provisions in the state budget.

"I do think anything dealing with merit pay deserves a deep evaluation outside of the budget bill," she said, adding that the discussion needs a "less toxic environment" where all parties are involved in the discussion.