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August 29, 2006
Detroit teachers vs. reality
Interesting story on the Detroit teachers strike currently in progress. Not unlike their cousins over in the UAW, they don't quite see that black hole at the end of the tunnel:
Detroit Public Schools officials fear the teacher strike that began Monday may exacerbate budget problems in the district, which already is projecting a 9,300-student decline this school year after last year's loss of nearly 11,000.
Knee-deep in debt, the district can't afford to lose more students to charter schools and neighboring districts, which costs Detroit about $7,450 per student in state funding.
At the end of the first day of the teacher walkout, a Wayne County judge on Monday ordered negotiators for both sides to bargain until 7 p.m. today in hopes of ending the standoff that some say could further cripple the district.
"If we don't have the revenues, then we can't keep the number of employees we have," Detroit Public Schools spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo said. "If we are planning for 119,000 students and we have 112,000 students then we have to lay off employees. That's why a strike is so damaging."[snip]
In recent years, charter schools and neighboring school districts have drawn thousands of students away from Detroit. Collectively, the city's 41 charter schools saw enrollment grow 23 percent over last year to 23,753 students.
Parents, however, may have difficulty finding options with many charters now at full capacity and enrollment periods at some neighboring districts already closed.
I've written elsewhere about the response of school districts to the loss of students (and therefore revenue) to school choice. Unions don't see things the same way, though.
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Comments
Although I live just outside of Philadelphia I have great distain for unions of any kind. I think that Ryan is correct in his comparison of the teachers union to UAW. Both of these seem to be run by people who cannot see the forest through the trees, or are so focused on their own desires that they just don't care about the consequences. Even the most pampered of unions, the airline pilots, have kept quiet and have even accepted pay cuts as their respective companies have been hit hard by rising gas prices and fewer business travelers. I know that UAW points to CEOs who make several millions a year and ask why; however their demands are not for corporate pay restructuring...
Here where I live I see two sides of the story. I have friends who teach in the city and in the suburbs. The teaching professionals in the city have to put up with the most hardships due to lack of funds and pure terror from students; however they are the lowest paid and are always the ones pointed too when talking about "underachievers." In the pampered suburbs the teachers make three times what the city workers do and, with enough experience, can make six figures. These professionals shout that they deserve it and point to high test scores as their proof. Even though the evidence points more to better access to reference materials and the work ethic of their parents whose taxes pay for it all.
I may have ranted a little far a field; however my point is simple. There needs to be a common, nationwide sentiment. No matter where you teach, the strikes are for the same reason. Money. No I am not suggesting a Socialist or Communist position of standardizing pay. I believe that pay should be based on the living standards of the area in which they teach. The city cannot afford to pay what the suburbs do and teachers in the suburbs cannot live on what the city pays. However our friends in Gary just accepted a 2%/year increase in pay when inflation is over 3%. Forest through the trees. When the contract runs out, where will they be? [Upset that their dollar does not go as far.] Taxes increase (or should increase) with inflation; therefore salaries should increase with inflation. To use a famous TV slogan “Set it and forget it!” The states should have "bonus" funds for school districts which show improvements from the previous year that equal dollars to teachers. Municipalities will then be on the hook to balance their budget as they will know how prices will increase from education every year.
My final comment: End the use of contracts. Teachers to the school district are not like Boeing to the federal government. Contracts are useless and should be eliminated. Teaching professionals need to work just like the rest of the world…
Posted by: Brian | September 3, 2006 07:20 AM
