One of the largest tax bills I am compelled to pay is school taxes.  The cost of schools is driven up by teacher’s unions who have taken the profession to a point where part time workers (they only work 190 days a year) get paid up to $100,000 per year, receive a budget busing pension, have a matched contribution plan and excellent health benefits. On top of all that, their jobs are secured by tenure. Downsizing is not an option.

The reasonable reaction is to say that the voters can elect school board members who will stand tough against the unions. If only that would work. The dirty little secret in Pennsylvania is that the school boards is just marginally involved in what teachers ultimately get paid. The truth is that unions can strike until arbitration and a faceless bureaucrat decides how much the voters most pay the teachers. We see it played out every couple of years. The unions go on strike. While it lasts, emotions run high. In the end it appears that the school boards lose their will. It isn’t a missing backbone at play…it is the threat that arbitration is going to be worse then settling. Often times, taking a known but imperfect contract seems better than loosing control and possibly getting something worse.

The next time your school board gives in to unreasonable teachers demands, remember that they may have had little say in the matter…and you as a voter, have even less say.

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