Don’t give away farm in teacher contracts
Are taxpayers ready for teachers strikes? Reviewing property tax invoices, even with reduced property values, the addition of the state’s equalization factor and other allowable increases, property taxes have risen. School districts are responsible for the majority of the increase. Many school districts will be renegotiating teacher’s union contracts. And school boards, whether elected or appointed, must start acting on behalf of the taxpayers and stop being intimidated by the teachers and their unions.
The unions will be demanding not only increases in wages but also that COLA remains intact. In the private sector, many employees have not received any raises or COLA. Teachers, once tenured, are almost impossible to replace while private employers may terminate employees for not maintaining company standards.
When employers close manufacturing facilities, have layoffs and have to curtail raises and other benefits, the company is trying to regain profitability. Teachers do not worry about the profit and loss of school districts, they have the taxpayers. With reduced staffs, private employees work harder with longer hours, while teachers have refused to work any extra hours for the benefit of the school districts.
Medical premiums have increased for both the employer and employee. Teachers have excellent low-cost health coverage but have shown no interest in sharing the increased costs.
Many private pensions are 401(k)s but they do not guarantee monthly income or COLA when employees retire. Teachers have guaranteed pensions with COLA. The Illinois teachers do not participate in Social Security, so they receive no Social Security benefits.
If teachers strike the only people affected are the children and parents who must find alternative day care. It is time that the school boards start considering the long-term effects of any negotiation with the teachers. As property taxes continue to increase, taxpayers will leave and then the school districts will become a mirror image of the state of Illinois with future obligations unsustainable.
Jack McCabe
Batavia