Be prepared – rant ahead. Not something that I typically focus on here – but it’s been heavy on my mind for a few weeks and it’s all coming to a head.
If you’ve watched the news recently, you’ve probably noticed that Arizona is struggling in the education department. Today marked day one of the teacher walk-out – which closed the schools. (We are a right to work state and being a part of the teacher union is voluntary. Less than half of teachers are part of the AEA.) We got a call this evening that we’ll be closed again tomorrow. In fact we’re closed until the teachers come back.
What started as a rally to support teachers has blown up into something much larger than they could’ve ever imagined and it still might not work out how they’re hoping. It’s a mess and I’m frustrated.
It seems to be the perfect storm. The state cut funds when the recession hit and schools have a taken the hit, even with the recovery of the economy, the money hasn’t made it’s way back into the schools. Teachers haven’t had raises. Schools need updates and repairs. They need more teacher support. The list could go on and on…and it does. We spend far more money incarcerating individuals than we do educating them. It’s sad.
Add to that we have the largest school district in the state, with almost 64,000 students, in 84 schools and I wouldn’t say they’re managing their budget very well. I spent a lot of time reading through the 2016 financial audit of the school district and it opened my eyes. It takes a lot of money to run a district this size but there is also so much waste. There is no getting around it – the district has put money into programs that they’ve put as a priority over the teachers.
On top of it all – the district has it’s back against the wall because it feels the need to provide so much where they feel it isn’t being provided at home. It’s one thing to provide food while at school, but then also free after school programs for working parents and busing situations outside our district and laptops for the students to have at home…its all so expensive. Yet the district obviously feels the need to compensate for family situations, but that ends up being the majority of our district. We are a high needs district. Unfortunately, they can’t do it without sacrificing something else and I can’t help but feel the teachers have partly been that sacrifice.
Of course the district blames the state. If they were to get more funding, they would pass it down to the teachers. But I’m not confident that would be the case. Throwing more funds at an already mishandled financial situation is not going to solve the problem. We have passed several bonds over the years and every time they’re advertised as making up for lost funds from the state. The 2012 bond was for $230 million dollars for capital improvements and buses and technology. And yet it’s never enough. It never will be.
Lets be clear – teachers deserve the world. They are shaping the future and making a difference in our children’s lives. They deserve active parent participation. They deserve our support in the classroom, they deserve our support in helping our kids at home. They deserve to be compensated well.
When this movement started they really pushed that this was for the kids. To create a better school environment for the kids. And I was all for that. Pay our teachers more. (even better is if its based on merit and qualifications instead of a blanket raise like originally requested.) Give them the support they need. But then when the prospect of getting what they asked for was being pushed to them, the demands started to change. Even my kids teachers are not in support of whats taking place now. It’s not about the kids anymore. It’s political and there’s a power struggle and the kids are no longer the purpose of it all – instead, they’re the pawns.
It has become ridiculous and the longer it goes on the more angry and less supportive parents are going to be. When a teacher from our school was asked, “what’s your end game? When are the teachers going to be willing to walk back in those doors?” She didn’t know. She’s not sure at what point the know they got what they wanted. That’s frustrating as a parent. Fight for what you know is right but you’ve got to know what you’re fighting for exactly. If the state turned around tomorrow and gave you and your support staff a solid raise would this be done? “Well, how do we know how sustainable that raise will be?” How does anyone in any industry know how sustainable a raise will be 5 or 10 years from now. Once again – the kids are just pawns at this point. (especially when this took place during their large curriculum testing week and we’re told because of the walkout there wouldn’t be any make-up days – they would just not be tested on certain sections).
It’s the perfect storm and it’s ugly. There are heated arguments and discussions coming from both sides and it you don’t support the walk-out then you hate the teachers and if you support the walk-out you’re ignorant and selfish. It’s exhausting and consuming on all accounts.
And now the district wants to make sure we’re all aware that every day the teachers aren’t willing to teach is a day that will be made up at the end of the school year and into the summer. The days that many families and teachers have already planned to be on vacation and won’t be in attendance.
Here’s to hoping our legislation can come up with a solution quickly and that the teachers can get back in the classroom and that our district can start plugging the holes in the bucket of expenditures that is spilling out money. Because if not we’ll be in this position again 10 years from now. All wishful thinking I suppose.
Rant over. For now.
I pay $9000 a year in property taxes for a home worth under $250,000 in IL that is now 16 years old. In AZ I would pay around $2000. Your taxes are too low. Course IL has strikes too.
I think it’s unfortunate with Facebook and other social media people expect a person to publicly state where they stand and will ostracize if it differs from their opinion. Before with strikes and walk outs you could not look up what every other parent felt about it. This will cause hard feelings for a long time. Will the teacher still be nice if you don’t post something supportive? Will your kids best friends mom still talk to you if you supported it but they didn’t cause it messed up with their own work?
It’s common for all the kids to have chrome books. They are not more than a few hundred dollars. They don’t have textbooks anymore. They don’t even have electronic textbooks anymore. I like when money is spent on things that directly go to the students.
I know IL has heavy taxes – our friends moved from there and taxes were a big portion of it. When we lived in Milwaukee we had high taxes, but not IL high!
Social media has changed the game for arguments and discussions – it’s also facilitated the wildfire spread of partly true information. I tend to be a cynic at heart – taking all information with skepticism. Which is why social media is such a hard place for me. People quote social media as if it’s the end all. It never is and it rarely portrays both sides of the story. In this situation social media has been explosive on both ends – its ugly and it never looks good on those spewing anger and hatred on both sides. Chances are on most situations there can be some (perhaps little) common ground. In this case, the common ground happens to be teacher’s need more pay. Now how one goes about doing that is where it all hits the fan. We’re on day 6 tomorrow. Fingers crossed we can be back soon.
Politics are hard, and it’s heated on all sides. The end game has not changed, and the children are not pawns. The situation is ridiculous because there is no easy answer.
I agree- it’s ridiculous and I’m finding it hard to navigate with so much conflicting information. One news outlet says this while another pushes a different spin on the story. Someone posts these numbers while another post the complete opposite. It’s hard to know what is real anymore with media twisting it in every which way. I’ve seen teachers passionate about this from the start and I’ve seen teachers trickle out the longer its gone on. I don’t have the answer and yet we all know the problem. Many are losing faith in public schools and their funding – I’m sure the charter schools are sitting back enjoying the parade while their enrollment numbers climb. Its sad.
I think my frustration has shifted in feeling as though the teacher’s right to walk out has superseded my kid’s right to his/her education. I support our teachers but I don’t support this prolonged break from the classroom. My support has come through helping in the classroom, helping with take home projects, including grading papers, making sure my kids are prepared for their class and projects as well as substantial financial contributions to aid in classroom activities and technology needs and there are so many parents in my kid’s class that do the same. Unfortunately, I know not all teachers feel this same support. I would hope they all feel supported.
I know I’m not alone, I hope they find resolution quickly.
I have been shocked to hear on the news what the average teacher’s salary is in the different states that are experiencing strikes. In Connecticut the average teacher’s salary is $85K.
CT has some of the best schools in the country and we obviously pay for that, but I think excellent public schools are an investment for which the entire society benefits. My property taxes are $4,100 on a $240K house.
John Merrow at The Merrow Report has interesting and insightful essays about public education in the USA. He is a former teacher and education journalist for decades. Here’s a link: https://themerrowreport.com/2018/03/28/whats-the-first-step/
This situation sounds so frustrating for the parents. I hope a sensible resolution is found very quickly.
I have heard great things about schools in Connecticut. I agree – education is an investment worth putting money into. How do we fund education without the politics and bureaucracy? That’s the million dollar question.
Thanks for this post! I found your blog originally through your sister in law Shawni, and I love all your pictures. This post hit home for me as an Ed grad student and future secondary teacher here in Boston. I firmly believe that there’s only one good reason to be a teacher: because you love kids. Most of our public school teachers here in MA are in the union, but with the charter schools it’s more complicated. While I’m glad the issue of teachers’ pay is in the news, I can’t help but feel sad for the kids losing out on valuable days of school!!
I think that’s what every one is in agreement with – teachers are valuable and deserve more pay. The problem is the manner in which its been carried out – when the kids should be in the classroom. Tomorrow is day 6 of being out – its going to be hard to get these kids focused again when their minds have shifted to summer break.