Even one of the best public high schools in the nation has its set of flaws. One of the main blemishes at Gunn, and the entire Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), is the lack of student input in the tenure system. Being tenured means that PAUSD is required to secure a teaching spot in the district for that person. This guarantee should be contingent upon approval by students. Under PAUSD's current tenure system, so-so or even terrible teachers receive tenure, largely because of the lack of student feedback in the process.

Any teacher who has taught for two or more years in the district is eligible for tenure. Teachers are evaluated by other teachers and district evaluators. Students do not have any input in the process besides filling out a survey about each teacher, tenured or not.

It is very difficult to fire a tenured teacher, so if a teacher that students disapprove of gets tenure, they have to deal with the consequences for years. Principal Noreen Likins described the system as a "legal wrangle," because it is a tedious process involving countless hours of paperwork.

If students feel a tenured teacher does not deserve tenure, it is hard for the school to get rid of him or her. Students then tend to transfer out of the teacher's class, causing endless stress for counselors at the beginning of the year. If the students cannot transfer, they are forced to stay in a class in which they are unhappy.

If student input were more regulated and respected regarding whether teachers get tenured, the system would be less flawed. The school should set up a system to allow students to have a say in the process; after all, they are the ones who will be taught by the teacher.

The school could pick a group of students specifically to evaluate teachers. Before it is time to award tenure, these students would visit potential tenure candidates' classrooms to listen in and observe the candidates giving classes. They would then report back to the district and give their input. Teachers would only be granted tenure if students thought they deserved it, and the flaws of the system would be eliminated.