Monday, December 27, 2010
"Disquiet" on the Janesville Front
Click on the post to see the GazetteXtra article and comments about nervous Janesville teachers worried about layoffs. Well, good grief, what the heck did these teachers think would happen? Ten million in the hole, nothing left to cut, balanced budget required. I'm underwhelmed with the level of brilliance on staff in Janesville. It seems the teachers can't follow the clues to the inevitable conclusion. I repeat, what did they think would happen? Another bailout? Well, I've been wrong before, but that "blood from a turnip" ship has already sailed twice. The comment thread is all over the map on this one. It's interesting to see the level of misinformation regarding education and funding out there in Janesville, which I believe is representative of any old town. There is no option about funding special education, yet people post hateful remarks about that on blog forums. It would be almost amusing that one poster considers foreign language and arts to be unworthy of public education funds, but for the deep abiding assurance I have in my heart that the selfsame blogger would rail at any cuts to sports. Ah well, the year of the axe has begun. I am completely empathetic to the role of school boards and adminstrations all over the country this year. I hope you can budget with the least carnage committed to actual educational programs. I pray that you have strength to do what has to be done, and damn the political consequences. I plead with you to avoid special interests from here until your budgets are done in the spring so you can do the right thing regardless of the fallout. That's my New Year's Wish to school board members everywhere.
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3 comments:
I read some of these comments as well. I do question and maybe you can answer why, did the school board approve their new contract which included a pay raise, if things were so dire? Why have they not switched health care provider programs?
I think these teachers are delusional for expecting what they expect in this economy, and then cry about the thought of being laid off or terminated all together.
Most every other occupation has experienced some sort of lay off, or cut in wages.
Schools can be no different. There is no money.
I think Scott Walker is going to be a nightmare for schools, based on his comments already.
Really he is just going to be a nightmare, not just for teachers.
Chasin.
I am not informed as to why the Janesville School Board voted the way they did. My observation of the process in Evansville leads me to believe that Janesville Board Members believed it was expedient to get the contracts signed but probably warned the union that this could mean lay-offs in the near future. The union is particularly hard of hearing when the ramifications of their "more more more" mentality come home to roost.
The same can be said for all government funded programs. Most are not self sustaining, and are a privilege to have, not a right. Some programs are worth spending the money, or even borrowing SOME money to establishing them, but I believe Thomas Jefferson summed it up pretty well when he said “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not”.
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