Deborah Gist is a woman of her word.

As promised, Rhode Island’s new commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education directed school districts to stop hiring teachers based on seniority alone, a move certain to aggravate teachers unions statewide.

The announcement came on Friday; just one week after Gist told the Herald editorial board that plans to expand the Providence system were imminent. Former Commissioner Peter McWalters implemented the program in Providence earlier this winter.

Gist is basing her stand on the Basic Education Plan, signed by the Rhode Island Board of Regents, which takes effect on July 1.

Here in Cranston, representatives from the schools are skeptical of the policy.

“Ending seniority is not the only answer. The answer is getting a combination of good teacher evaluation procedures and as well as looking at seniority,” said School Committee member Stephanie Culhane.

Although the committee has not yet discussed the decision, she said many of her colleagues were surprised by the move.

“It came as quite a shock to some superintendents who heard about it on the news,” she said, adding that she does not necessarily disagree with the policy, but said it should have been implemented differently.

Culhane believes that Gist should include superintendents and union leadership in the conversation. Not taking them into consideration, she said, is “showing bad faith.”

“This is a group effort. You need to be talking with your superintendent, with your teachers, with your unions and with parents,” she said.

Superintendent Peter Nero agreed. He compared the situation to the city changing the structuring of middle schools, where the public was invited to share their thoughts.

“Not everyone was happy with the final decision but everyone had the chance to weigh in,” he said.

Gist maintains that she isn’t picking a fight. To place effective educators in classrooms with achievement gaps, as required by the BEP, she said a seniority-based system is flawed.

“My highest priority for transforming Rhode Island education is ensuring that every student has highly effective teachers,” she said in a statement. “To meet this priority, we must be sure that districts select and retain only the most highly effective staff and that districts base teacher and administrator assignment on student need.”

Gist, a two-time Teacher of the Year, is known for her child-centered education philosophy. She has spent the past three months visiting schools in Rhode Island to talk to students and educators about the issues important to them, as well as what makes a good teacher.

In many states outside of Rhode Island, teacher candidates must submit resumes and go through an interview process in order to apply for a teaching job, even if it’s a district they already teach in. Principals and interview teams can submit their top candidate to the superintendent for consideration.

In Rhode Island, and in Cranston specifically, that is bypassed when a job opens up within the district. If a teaching job opens up in a building it is given to the person with the most seniority. They bid for the job at what is called a job jamboree in Cranston. Several of these job fairs take place beginning in the spring and all vacant positions go on the auction block. Teachers place their bid on their desired job, and the positions are filled.

Once they bid for the job they’d like, the position they’ve left opens up for others to do the same until every job opening is taken. If no one takes the jobs left by the final jamboree, the building principal can interview outside applicants for the position.

Frank Flynn, president of the Cranston Teachers’ Alliance, has mixed feelings, and was concerned with the legalities of the announcement.

“I think that she’s very taking a broad interpretation of what he BEP allows with respect to the application of moving personnel,” he said. “I think that certainly for new hires the district has the authority and right to move them as they wish.”

Flynn believes that if the evaluation process is comprehensive, then any certified teacher should be qualified.

“We hope she’ll revisit her strong stance and work more collaboratively rather than issuing edicts without discussing them with us,” he said.

Moreover, Flynn said that the policy appears to disregard Title 16, which allows teachers to have collective bargaining rights.

Gist noted that it is specifically aimed at teacher vacancies, not at current teachers in their classrooms already.

Nero too, is unsure of how exactly the policy will play out.

“On the one hand it says it’s passing in 2010 but on the other hand she says if there is a contract in place you need to go with that contract,” he said.

The superintendent explained that he is waiting to learn more on several points in the policy, but is expecting Gist’s decision to stick.

“I think moving forward she’s looking for a staffing plan that principals can use instead of seniority,” he said. “Our attorneys are looking at things and are telling us to wait until we get clarification but are basically telling us to be prepared for probably removing seniority.”