Education Budget Crisis March 20, 2010

Sacramento, California

Scottsdale, Arizona

Hunstville, Alabama

Detroit, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Kansas City, Missouri

Rockford, Illinois

Elgin, Illinois

Schaumburg, Illinois

Waukegan, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

All over the country districts are considering or have already approved teacher layoffs.

The Chicago Board of Education is threatening 3,200 teacher layoffs, class sizes of 37, elimination of preschool for the most needy and cuts in services to English language learners.  Mr. Huberman, our CEO, is saying that without more state funding the only way to address these issues even partially is to reopen the teacher contract and take back our promised raise and board contributions to our pension.

I’ve heard teachers ask why we should be required to give up our raise when Mr. Huberman makes over $200,000.  I think that is beside the point.  This is the way our society is set up and if we want that to change that we have a much bigger fight on our hands than the crisis before us now.

My question is how can we insist on a raise when our colleagues all over the country and teaching in the classroom next door are losing their jobs?  What is fair about that?

Yes, it would be nice if Mr. Huberman would decide, as a good faith effort to make even as little as the highest paid teacher in CPS, given that he doesn’t even have an education degree or experience, two things we are required to have to move up the pay scale.  But I don’t see that happening.  And the board has already cut 500 non-teaching jobs and required those left to take three weeks of furlough days.

When it comes down to it, as a teacher and a parent, if I can save the jobs of my colleagues and the educational quality of my students, as well as and even more importantly to me personally – that of my own children, I will give up my raise.

My critics would say that it wouldn’t save that many jobs, that we would still have larger class sizes, that we would still lose preschool and there would still be a decrease in ELL services.  That may be true.

My colleagues who have been around longer than me tell me that the Board has done little to build trust and that even now they are holding secret meetings.  I’m told that if we give anything up it will be in vain because the Board could solve these issues without our concessions.  That may be true.

So I guess this leaves us in a quandary.  How can we contribute to the best possible solution?  If our answers begins with “They,” then we’ve given up all control and become victims of the system.  But we cannot accept this role because there are bigger victims – our children.

Our union president Marilyn Stewart’s response to the Mr. Huberman’s proposals can be found here.

She says in the last paragraph that the union will do everything we can to help all of us out of the mess CPS put us in.  First of all, CPS didn’t get us in this mess by themselves.  Let’s put the responsibility where it belongs – with a society that undervalues quality education for every child.  Secondly, I have yet to hear the union make any suggestions about how we will help – only stating the things we won’t do.

If we as teachers are to be true advocates for the education for our children we must bring something to the table.  And until I hear another suggestion I’m thinking that is going to have to be our raise.

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