Teachers are state’s fiscal scapegoats

I have followed this nearly daily tsunami concerning the need for pension “reform” with interest the past few years. As a veteran teacher for the past 32 years, I have weathered the storms and never wavered in my goal of always teaching from the heart to get results of the head.

The question I ask is why are some things “on the table” while other contributing factors remain untouchable? Approximately 600,000 undocumented people live in the state, a large percentage are folks who use our schools and other services (no fault of their own). We have graft and corruption in other social services, like food stamps. These are only some of the untouchables. Our state employees, on the other hand, who have been demonized in the press but duly have put in 10 percent of their payroll for years, find that they are the only ones seemingly on the table for discussion.

The real contributors — fire, police and educators — have become human pinatas. Consider that nearly 56 percent have pensions under $50,000 per year and only 4 percent have pensions over $100,000. Listening to the volatile discourse, you might have thought it reversed. Moving the cost to the local school districts will merely pit educators against the community and the children will be the real losers.

Sometimes there is more to the bottom line than dollars and a lack of sense. It will take about 5 to 10 years, but the fallout from this shell game of not putting everything on the table will be felt for a generation. Quality folks going into public service for the right reasons will be a thing of the past. Educators should contribute more to their pensions, but making them the fiscal scapegoat for the financial mismanagement of the state is a poor lesson plan for all of us.

Andy Isaacson

Villa Park