Another day, another attack on public school teachers by the uber conservative "editor" of the North County Times who apparently thinks teacher rights are evil.
Read his screed here:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-fresh-air-on-pink-slips/article_b40017df-8a63-5647-acc8-b346487f921c.html?mode=story
In his editorial, our uber conservative editor follows the typical script of billionaire bullies, Bill Gates and Eli Broad. His propaganda piece extols how wonderful beginning teachers are while casting aspersions on experienced older teachers. The agenda of the billionaire bullies is to get all school districts staffed exclusively with poorly paid young teachers. Our bully boy friends love the idea of education on the cheap because it means they can contribute even less to the community good and welfare of others even though they made use of tax funded opportunities that past generation gave them. Selfish, selfish, selfish.
As far as the billionaire bully lie that young teachers are better teachers, better human being, harder working and more exciting than experienced teachers, NO STUDY SUPPORTS THIS LIE. NONE. NOT ONE. All carefully controlled education studies find just the opposite. Experience in the classroom is the single most important factor in being an effective teacher.
What about the other billionaire bully lie that seniority is unfair to young teachers. The truth is just the opposite. All teachers are protected by seniority, even the newly hired ones. If seniority lay offs are scheduled, then even the beginning teachers are laid off in order. Here is an example, let's say that Joe was hired on August 2, Jill on August 3, and Jose on July 31. The lay offs go in reverse order of those hire date. In this example Jill is laid off first, then Joe and last Jose. Jose is more protected than Jill and Joe and knows that fact. That knowledge is security.*
Further being laid off as a result of seniority carries NO STIGMA when looking for the next teaching position. If a laid off teacher gets a good reference from their former principal, getting another teaching job at equivalent salary is more than easy. Districts are constantly looking for good young teachers with good references. Young teachers are very inexpensive. Because of the poverty wages paid to young teachers, they are about half cost of a more experienced teacher. Their low cost only becomes a liability if they are so inexperienced that they are ineffective. But there is no problem for an well referenced, "seniority laid off" teacher to get another job--those folks are gold. Often the districts, from which they are laid off, soon find another opening for them.
Once a young teacher has seniority with a district, they can feel safe to start a family and buy a house. That happens very quickly. Two years in a district and most get permanent status. At that point banks will make house loans. Homes can be purchased and families begun.
Right now we are in a very rare time of vicious blood letting that means even a very few of new teachers who have permanent are being laid off. This is not normal and will not last. No reason to change a seniority system that protects teachers from horrendous abuse of the past for this anomaly. Why go back to a time when teachers were laid off so principals could create an opening for relatives or school board trustees could make jobs for their political friends (patronage abuse). That is how it was in the fifties. Is that what we want to go back to?
Sacramento Republicans are entirely responsible for the current fiscal crises in our state and lack of funding for schools. About half California's state budget is spent on education. So when the state budget declines teachers are laid off.
Sacramento Republicans using the very UN-democratic and archaic two thirds rule, have forced revenues in only one direction--down. No state revenue, no money for school districts which get 80-90 percent of their money from Sacramento. Good bye to small class sizes and newly hired teachers (many of which are middle aged folks who wanted to start a second career.)
If you want new teachers not to be laid off, don't vote Republican. Say what? you ask.
All Republicans in our state capitol, Sacramento, have sworn an oath of loyalty to a Washington DC lobbyist named Grover Norquist. "King" Norquist has said he wants to strangle government (services for middle class and poor, school, roads, veterans, medicare social security, etc.) until it is small enough to drown in a bath tub. He controls a vast pool of money given to him by uber rich, uber right wing billionaire bullies. King Norquist uses this money to destroy any elected state house Republican who does not follow his imperial commands to destroy government services by de-funding them.
How you ask? His "imperial majesty' runs and funds a challenger in the next Republican primary against any Republican who will not take his imperial orders.
Our Sacramento Republicans are terrified of King Norquist. They NEVER cross him. Their loyalties are to him first and to you, the voter, never.
In the next election, VOTE for ANYONE but a Republican to stop King Norquist and get funding levels for schools, hospitals, the elderly, the poor, the disabled, state parks, veterans etc. back into reason.
King Norquist is extremely well paid for his disreputable service to the billionaire bullies. His salary and benefit packages are worth in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. He never has to worry about bills for house payments or health costs. He lives in a bubble of privilege and cares not what happens to those who don't. Remember the King and his Sacramento servants in November.
Read more about "the king" here:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/05/washington-tax-activist-norqui.html
or here:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/25/3651880/jerry-brown-grover-norquist-spar.html
or watch Samantha Bee's take on his pledge here:
http://sacramentofordemocracy.org/node/36142
*(Although if Jose has less than two years with a district, there is really not much security at all. He can be laid off for any or no reason at all because he is a probationary teacher with absolutely no rights at all (except seniority). One probationary teacher I know was laid off for refusing to coach a third sports team in his second year on the job. Each coaching position takes HOURS every day after school and there is little extra pay. Very tough for newbie teachers who need the time to prepare lessons for class but if you are probationary and refuse the "voluntary' extra coaching assignment you can find yourself fired--referred to in educational-ese as being non re-elected.)
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