Back to school and straight to the picket line

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

TEACHERS IN six school districts in southern Washington state were on strike in late August and early September to demand wage increases needed to bring their pay up to the level of other educators nationally.
Predictably, school officials are claiming that giving teachers a raise would force them to cut important programs for students.
But this stock response is particularly absurd because a recent Washington Supreme Court ruling in the McCleary case — which was the result of the state’s failure to live up to its obligation to provide quality public schools under the state’s constitution — has triggered extra funding in the state budget, including $2 billion specifically earmarked for teachers’ salaries.
Instead of agreeing to the wage increases, however, district administrators have been hoarding the cash, which sits in a bank account accruing interest.
In addition to shining a light on this hoarded gold, the strike has also exposed the fact that superintendents in Clark County make a stunning amount of money. Nearly all get six figures every year — the Vancouver school district superintendent makes more than $300,000.

To read more:

https://socialistworker.org/2018/09/04/back-to-school-and-straight-to-the-picket-line

Bonuses for the bosses, and austerity for the workers. Classic predatory capitalism in action.

[BigmanPigman]

1. When I became a teacher I LEARNED a lot.

The first thing I learned is that school districts are businesses. They care about the bottom line and NOT the kids. School boards are always pulling this shit. Our superintendent made hundreds of thousands of dollars the first year he was here and the same year and for the next 5 years he fired 33% of teachers and 50% of support staff. No nurses, computers, psychiatrists, office staff, librarians, custodians, gardeners, cafeteria staff, teacher aides, second language teachers, spec ed aides, etc. Kids come last and teachers are next to last. Their own bank accounts are their first priority.