Sacred Cow MOOOOVE Over

I grew up in a middle class family in a middle class neighborhood of teachers, cops and shopkeepers. My mother was an elementary school teacher; in fact she taught in the squat brick school where my formal education began. I’ve never questioned the integrity of teachers and I always thought it was a noble career choice.

My mother used to say she taught so she could be home with girls in the afternoon and take us to ballet and art class. She liked spending summers at the Rockaway Beaches, reading on her lounge chair while she dipped her feet in the surf. She could have ascended the ranks and become a principal but she liked the children very much.

I don’t remember much talk of the unions back then.

Now that I’m a parent and a home-owner, I view teachers through a more filtered lens. In becoming intimately familiar with my suburban district’s budgeting process, I have come to see union contracts as outrageous and unreasonable. And that was before the economy imploded.

Having worked for private entities since 1983 – and for myself for the past decade – I know what it’s like to be affected by real-world economic conditions. In the good times, I’ve enjoyed the bounty. In bad times, I reign in my expectations. I don’t regret choosing a private-sector career; it is what writers must do.

Last year, scouring our proposed school budget, I came to understand that union contracts create an unlevel playing field. 3% to 4% raises year-over-year for teachers who work 185 days of the year. Regular step raises apart from these contractual raises. Do these people even know what the word “meritocracy” means? They don’t share the cost of health benefits and pensions. No wonder my mother built such a comfortable cushion.

I couldn’t believe that 80% of total spending in our school district covers salaries and benefits – and we’re talking about many six-figure salaries.

Gov. Paterson is once again talking about trying to build support for a 4% property tax cap, and I applaud him completely. Sheldon Silver, who is in bed with the unions, was able to successfully block the proposal earlier this year, but the tide has turned.

The disparity between union members and the rest of us is finally becoming a national discussion. In part, we have the bankrupt auto companies to thank for that.

But back here in good ole suburbia, the “teacher” is still the sacred cow. Folks in the neighborhood, especially those with kids in the schools, are too afraid to hit the problem with a blunt instrument. It is sacrilegious to take aim at the teachers’ salaries. These same people like to complain about their taxes at Halloween parties but ask them to go public or get involved in grassroots politics and they’ll pretend they don’t know you.

They’re too cowed to criticize teachers’ union representatives for being greedy and unreasonable. I’d bet many people like me come from families with teachers, and have benefited from the system, but hey, as the three auto companies are showing us, change is inevitable.

I believe it will take a property tax cap passing for the union exploitation to come to a head. If union reps could just find a way to be reasonable – to accept a wage freeze for a year or two -- it would be a real teachable moment.