Last Year 2010-2011, teachers were publicly asked by the Administration to "voluntarily give back" $1,500 of a total compensation increase of $4,500. This is awkward because teachers are entitled to their increase by contract. Nevertheless in light of our difficult times the question was put forth. If this had been done, the money would have been used to save librarians and guidance counselors.
A Deal was not struck, and the cuts went through.
More cuts lie ahead for the town this year.
Should the same request to the teachers' association be made again?
Last year just to use rough numbers, our school district had to come up with $8mm dollars in order to essentially stand still.
ReplyDeleteThat means come up with $8mm and we wont have to cut any existing programs.
Again just rough numbers...$4mm went to increased pension costs, and $4mm went to increased health care costs. And the primary beneficiaries of all that cash last year was the members of the teachers association.(someone please feel free to correct my math or my facts.)
If the preponderance of the massive increase in costs last year (and this year) went for the benefit of only one of the stakeholders in our community, i don't think it was unreasonable for the administration to at least ask the question then, and they should ask it again this year too.
I do think it was unreasonable that the teachers were not able to give back some of their average $4,500 increase, while they fired librarians and guidance counselors.
2011 was the year the Teachers Closed the Libraries. Lets not have another one of those.