Public-sector deadwood

Former state Rep. Debbie Blackburn, a liberal Democrat from Oklahoma City and a former public school teacher, once acknowledged that she has "taught with people that I thought should never have been in the profession" and that it might make sense to "get rid of the deadwood."

Oklahoma edu-blogger Wesley Fryer made a similar point yesterday:

It's a fact: Some teachers remain in the classroom not because they love their jobs, love their kids, or are passionate about learning, they remain for the steady paycheck and the three months off in the summertime. Anyone who has spent a length of time teaching in our public schools has run into these types of teachers. It's quite ironic that in our current economic climate, the "employee at will" nature of many business-world contracts is strikingly visible outside of schools [yep], and the challenge posed by "deadwood teachers" who are unlikely to ever be fired or replaced in their jobs is as glaringly obvious as ever.