Thursday, March 30, 2006
Welcome to Pittsburgh Mr. Roosevelt
On March 29 the teachers and so-called professional workers of the Pittsburgh School District sent the new superintendent a “welcome to the City” card by rejecting a negotiated contract that had the support of the District and the union’s new president.
Notwithstanding a looming deficit of $47 million in a budget that has operating expenditures of over $17,000 per student, the arguments that the District needs help from its employees to rein in its extravagant spending fell on deaf ears.
As we have noted in earlier writings, the real power in school districts lies with the unions. Unfortunately, unions represent the interests of the teachers and other employees, not the interests of the children or the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
Unless the Board capitulates and comes up with a better contract offer, the union will rattle the strike sword, their ultimate weapon and source of power.
Superintendents come and superintendents go. The unions and their lackeys in the education establishment are forever. Don’t look for support from the rank and file voters in Pittsburgh to support the superintendent. They have long since sided with the unions and are unlikely to change their minds. People who care about their kids’ education and others concerned about the high taxes they have to pay to fund education will continue to move away.
The school system offers an important but unfortunate lesson. When employers cannot run their own enterprise but must instead give control to the employees, the outcome is almost always a fiasco. Welcome to Pittsburgh Mr. Roosevelt.
Notwithstanding a looming deficit of $47 million in a budget that has operating expenditures of over $17,000 per student, the arguments that the District needs help from its employees to rein in its extravagant spending fell on deaf ears.
As we have noted in earlier writings, the real power in school districts lies with the unions. Unfortunately, unions represent the interests of the teachers and other employees, not the interests of the children or the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
Unless the Board capitulates and comes up with a better contract offer, the union will rattle the strike sword, their ultimate weapon and source of power.
Superintendents come and superintendents go. The unions and their lackeys in the education establishment are forever. Don’t look for support from the rank and file voters in Pittsburgh to support the superintendent. They have long since sided with the unions and are unlikely to change their minds. People who care about their kids’ education and others concerned about the high taxes they have to pay to fund education will continue to move away.
The school system offers an important but unfortunate lesson. When employers cannot run their own enterprise but must instead give control to the employees, the outcome is almost always a fiasco. Welcome to Pittsburgh Mr. Roosevelt.
