Thursday, May 1, 2014

Pools, Pacts, and Promises Broken: NYC Public Schools


                  Leslie Brody’s recent articles, Teachers in Limbo and Accord Nears for Teachers, discuss Mayor Bill de Blasio’s negotiations with NYC's United Federation of Teachers. Teachers in Limbo outlines the frustration of unemployed teachers who are continuing to receive full salaries ($75,937) and full benefits but are forced to work as substitute teachers. A substitute's salary in my town, if one works every day which is rare, is$11,500 per year. And there is no paid sick leave, no health insurance, no retirement and no paid summers off!  The frustrated teachers aren't in Limbo; they are in La La Land!  In America today, there are millions unemployed, underemployed and millions more outside the workforce.  Among recent college graduates, unemployment stands at 10.9%.  Of those who find work, more than 40% are in jobs that require no college degree, more than 20% are working only part time and 20% are in low-wage jobs. These individuals have a right to be frustrated! In Accord Nears for Teachers, Mayor de Blasio is forcing teachers in the pool to take jobs when they open. How many unemployed people would love to be paid $80,000+ per year to substitute teach while waiting for a job opportunity? And the UFT views this as a concession?
            Another negotiating point is healthcare. The United Federation of Teachers is a chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  The AFT spent $1.9 million on the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. The union passionately advocated for Obamacare, but the UFT is the largest beneficiary of a waiver from one of the provisions of the healthcare law! One UFT leader said of the healthcare concessions de Blasio wants them to make, “They are trying to shove this deal down our throats!” Well, Obamacare was shoved down my throat and the throats of the rest of America! The AFT and Mayor Bill de Blasio supported Obama and supported Obamacare.  Therefore, all the teachers should be sent to the exchanges to purchase their healthcare without any special waivers or privileges! Those who talk the talk should be willing to walk the walk!
            As for negotiating for change in teacher evaluations by reducing criteria on a checklist? The evaluations aren't the problem. The problem is that the evaluations have no power. What can be done to remove a unionized, tenured teacher who consistently fails evaluations? Remove the teacher from the classroom and continue him or her on full salary while floating in the Limbo Pool? And blaming the teachers for all the problems that exist in public schools is unfair and counterproductive. The problems are systemic. Solving them will require creativity, courage and the cooperation of administrators, teachers, unions, parents, politicians and the business community.  Maybe, a good starting point might be to look at what appears to be working. On the same day she outlined the pact between the city and its teachers, Leslie Brody reported, Record Number of Students Apply to Charter Schools. “the city’s 198 public charter schools found they received 212,500 applications, up from 181,600 last year, with students seeking slots at an average of three charters at a time.” Parents are desperate for alternatives to a subpar public school system. The city may be nearing a pact with its teachers; but its pact with its public school students, a promise of an education that will prepare them for the challenges of the twenty-first century, is far from being kept. A new course for public schools needs to be chartered!
Mary M. Glaser
Simsbury, CT





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