Schools in the Battle Ground school district were supposed to open the current school year on Wednesday, August 29. Because of the self-interest of the teachers and their union representatives, they did not.
Instead, clusters of red-clad union members demonstrated along SR 503, seeking voter sympathy for their salary demands, asking for “their share” of the windfall funding disbursed to Washington’s school districts as a result of the McCleary court decision. But is that what it was meant to accomplish? How does paying a current teacher more for working fewer days per calendar year than just about any full-time worker is required to perform, serve these kids?
Per the Battle Ground Public Schools calendar, 180 school days fill the calendar, and not all of those are full instructional days. That means the teachers enjoy 185 days off each year, or over six months when you count weekends, school breaks, holidays and summertime. The average taxpayer working full time puts in 243 working days per year, being off only 122 days for weekends, two weeks of vacation and a few selected holidays.
Taxpayers are footing this bill, in our case over half of our annual property taxes. Wouldn’t hiring some additional teachers be a better use of this funding? Wouldn’t that have a positive impact on class sizes instead of enriching current staff? Did taxpayers receive a 6.5 percent pay raise that your union deems inadequate?
We didn’t.
What the union or the district doesn’t wish to comprehend is the constant assault on the taxpayers for more and more funding may go into different “pockets” at the district level, but it all comes from the same pair of pants at the taxpayer end.
Teachers, you have a pretty sweet deal. You work less than half the year for your salary and you have lots of time off with your own kids. Parents left to scramble for childcare while you stomp your feet and turn blue in the face have more to complain about than you do. But the kids are the real losers. Those are the same kids you chant about when you try to extort more money from taxpayers, claiming you do it “for the children.”
What are you doing “for the children” when you choose to strike instead of teach?
