That’s what I overheard a few years ago at our town’s Deliberative Session between two teachers who I later found out were union leaders. OK, so they didn’t say that parenthetical phrase but as I have written before, the costs of our schools (all over the state) are far outstripping the growth in students. Sure, some districts do have some population increases but most are not. The upward costs are not being driven by those items that go directly to student – it is for ever-increasing teacher salaries.
I’ll ask: have you ever heard a union say “hey, we’ll take less because the kids need more paper, pens, pencils, art supplies, science supplies” and the like because it’s “for the children”? I will say that I never have but certainly I’ve heard the kvetching from taxpayers (unless they or a family member are drawing a paycheck from said districts) lamenting that while THEIR take-home pay goes down (generally healthcare, taxes, et al) it always seems they have to pay more to make the teachers “whole”. Fairness? Nope – that’s what unions do – rent-seek from others beyond what they otherwise could do.
We certainly talked a LOT about enrollment decreases and school district salary costs this year in the Budget Committee deliberations – how does one protect the taxpayers when it seems like the school board is beholden to the union come contract time? You can’t. And this is starting to raise its head all over the state – two examples (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Chichester approves $6.4M school budget, despite concerns over enrollment drop
The town of Chichester approved a $6.4 million school budget during the district’s annual meeting Saturday, after two failed motions by residents to reduce spending…But some residents expressed concern about growing tax rates, especially given the steady decrease in district enrollment in recent years. While the district’s budget has increased by more than a million dollars in the last 10 years, enrollment in Chichester’s only school has dipped by almost one-third in less than 20 years, according to data presented by school board member Ben Brown. In 2001, there were close to 300 students attending Chichester Central School. Around 2007, that number dropped to 250. This year, enrollment is as low as 201 students. Brown said that number is expected to decrease by 10 more students during the 2018-19 school year.
And with an audience at one of our BudComm meetings, I told the assembled public (pretty much all school-related employees and family) – who is there to protect the financially vulnerable?
Todd Hammond, a resident who said he has children attending Pembroke Academy – the high school Chichester students feed into – said his family has had to think seriously about whether they can continue to afford living in the town. “Many people I know who are around my age with children that are at the high school … have already made the decision that once their kids graduates, they’re going to move because of our tax rate,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re living in a town where we’re starting to price ourselves out, and that concerns me. We’ve got to do something, and start cutting and looking more closely at our budget.”
And I bet, just like when I finished talking, all he saw were “stone faces” – even as they teach empathy (re: the emphasis on “I feelz”), they return little themselves except for those in their own “community”. Because there is always more need:
In an attempt to offset some of that tax burden, Hammond made a motion to cut funds allotted for an increase in hours for the school’s hardware specialist – $33,411 – from the budget. The CCS hardware specialist, who works to assist teachers with technology in classrooms, is poised to see an increase in hours from 28 to 30, making that employee eligible for costly benefits. CCS Principal Brian Beaverstock said this position has become necessary as the school works to implement a 1-1 Chromebook to student ratio. Last year, the district implemented 1-1 Chromebooks ratio for third- through eighth-grade. A total of $11,330 was allotted in the 2018-19 budget to provide Chromebooks to first- and second-graders as well. CCS teacher Jen Sanborn said she needed to call the hardware specialist into her classroom several times this year. She said the extra help will become even more necessary with more technology in the school.
And here, too:
Hopkinton voters pass $20 million budget after heated debate
Rising school costs were forefront in Hopkinton voters’ minds Saturday as they made a failed attempt to slash the 2018-19 budget, and shot down a proposal to relocate the district’s administrative offices. The town ultimately passed the proposed $20 million budget, but not before a lengthy back-and-forth between voters and school officials over the reasons for the more than $652,000 increase over the 2017-18 approved budget. Despite the fact that the budget has a zero percent tax impact, some voters were still critical of the proposal, accusing school officials of relying too heavily on one-time savings and revenues that won’t be available in future budget cycles to offset the financial burden. The district retired this year a 20-year bond for a $7 million renovation of Maple Street Elementary School and Hopkinton Middle/High School. That freed up $553,500 – money which resident Tim Murray said should have made it back to taxpayers.
We had a similar situation – the health insurance was way down, almost $900,000. We on the BudComm smiled – money we thought that put-upon taxpayers would get back. And then a bit further in the budget, they spent that “savings” and more…but kept touting that they had “saved” money with the newer policy. But then, as always, we see the Washington Monument Syndrome play its part:
Murray, a Hopkinton resident of more than 20 years, was quick to propose an amendment to reduce the $20,000,471 budget by $553,500. While the amendment received strong backing, it failed in a secret ballot vote by about 100 votes. Superintendent Steven Chamberlain cautioned voters that if they were to approve the reduction in the budget, the school board would have to consider cutting some middle school sports, assistant coaching positions, independent studies and curriculum support services, as well as some library services and technology support.
And then the false sense of accounting shows up:
Whenever there is a negligible impact on the tax rate, “we should be throwing them a party and voting on this budget right now,” Reddy said of the school officials who drafted the budget. In a secret ballot vote, the proposed $20 million operating budget passed by a majority, with a final tally of 338-155.
It never seems that anyone brings up the actual results of all this spending in quantifiable terms – it’s not for the kids, it will be what happens TO the kids if the budget demands aren’t met. This next part is important because if the politics are happening in my town, it is in your’s too:
The annual school meeting lasted nearly five hours and drew 569 voters, representing about 12 percent of Hopkinton’s registered voters. Attendance, however, dwindled after the heated budget discussion.
We know that public government unions have become their own special interest voting groups – and why not? They mass together to get what they want from everyone else. Here in my town, they reliably turn out 700-750 voters. It goes without saying that with the snowbirds down in FL and two years with blizzards, the local “teachers collective that’s only interested in their community” swamps everyone else. If you vote against the adults, you hate children. You selfish bigot that wants kids to be illiterate with your “cut, cut, cut!”
