About Time

Wednesday 2 June 2010 - Filed under Education

Jennifer Medina via The New York Times:

After warning of widespread teacher layoffs for months, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Wednesday morning that the city would eliminate planned raises for all of its public-school teachers and principals for the next two years, which he said would “save the jobs of some 4,400 teachers.”

Though it’s a good sign to finally see a politician (one of leftist pedigree especially) hold fast against powerful teachers unions, this move highlights further proof that teachers unions have a stranglehold over the educational system,

The mayor’s statement portrayed the decision as final, but in his own statement, Mr. Mulgrew said that the mayor did not have the power to take such a step. The union’s contract with the city expired in October, and negotiations over the current contract are at an impasse.

“He does not have the power to unilaterally decide on the teachers’ contract, and we have reached no agreement on his proposal to freeze teacher pay,” Mr. Mulgrew said.

Though perhaps catastrophic in the short term, the best thing Bloomberg could do for both the New York City school system and the students that it serves is stand up to the teachers union by either forcing them to immediate “no raise” terms in their new contract,¹ or letting them all go, making them come back as individuals negotiating their own contracts.  It’s about time to show the teachers unions of America that their extra 2% cannot supersede the fiscal crisis that all of America is facing.

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1.  Without any costly incentives in order to “make up” for lost pay.

2010-06-02  »  madlibertarianguy