Nathan Saunders eked out a win over incumbent George Parker in a very tight race for the presidency of the approximately 4,000-member Washington Teachers’ Union, The Washington Post reports.
For months, the two men were involved in some pretty nasty back-and-forth power battles at the WTU, leading to an embarrassing episode in which the national AFT got involved to make sure the union election was run on time.
I wrote a blog item last month about the implications of this election on D.C. education policy, so be sure to check that out. Bottom line: Saunders and some of the other newly elected WTU officers, such as former trustee Candi Peterson, have been vocal critics of most of the initiatives begun during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as chancellor of the district.
Kaya Henderson, who worked for Rhee and is now D.C.'s interim chancellor, has pledged to support Rhee’s IMPACT evaluation system and pay initiatives. It will be interesting to see how her relationship with Saunders evolves.