Schools spend most of their money on labor, so that’s where the savings should come from
Pennsylvania schools are in serious financial trouble.
Across the state, thousands of teachers and other school employees have received layoff notices, and several districts are considering switching to four-day school weeks.
This type of cost-cutting is not necessary.
Local teachers unions across the state could save their districts millions of dollars per year by reopening their collective bargaining agreements and accepting temporary concessions for the benefit of students and everyone involved.
A typical teachers union collective bargaining agreement is loaded full of expensive provisions that have no connection to student learning.
They usually include things like automatic, annual pay raises for teachers regardless of performance; free or low-cost health coverage; free or low-cost retirement pensions; a generous number of paid sick, personal and professional days off; reimbursement for unused sick days; longevity bonuses; extra pay for teachers with a few extra kids in their classroom and attendance bonuses.
The collective bargaining agreements of many Pennsylvania school districts can be found at PublicSchoolSpending.com.
Those type of provisions add millions to school budgets every year. A typical public school district spends at least 70-75 percent of its general fund on labor costs.
If the teachers unions would recognize the severe economic conditions and give something back on a temporary basis, schools could save a great deal of money and avoid layoffs and hair-brain schemes like four-day school weeks.
It’s happening in other states.
In Louisiana, the Tangipahoa Parish school board voted recently to suspend paid sabbaticals and extended medical leaves for teachers, saving the district roughly $1.2 million and about 15 teaching jobs. The teachers union supported the move.
In California, the teachers union in the Whittier district recently voted to accept a salary freeze that will help save roughly $4.5 million and approximately 50 staff jobs.
If teachers unions in other states can give something back and help their districts survive the financial crisis, there’s no reason why Pennsylvania’s unions can’t do the same.
If they refuse, schools are left with little choice but to lay off younger teachers and eliminate programs. All of that would hurt students, and they should be the last to suffer the effects of the poor economy.
After all, public schools exist first and foremost for children. So it’s time for the adults in the unions to step up and do the right thing for their communities.
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