Teachers playing dangerous game

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

Teachers playing dangerous game Friday, May, 7, 2004

Rob Haneisen Framingham Tab

Similar to when Stapleton parents and staff had students and children making public appeals to save their school from budget cuts, Framingham teachers are using students and in some cases their own children to make the appeal for raises.
Teachers have also implemented 'work to rule' practices which means they are out the door soon after classes are dismissed. The practice hurts extracurricular and after school activities with students who rely on teachers that don't receive stipends. Coaches, for example, receive stipends.
Teachers have also resorted to take their picket lines and protests to the homes of certain school committee members, apparently to send a message.
Some who have criticized the teachers' tactics have been met with harassing and threatening phone calls and other messages.
A contract deadline next week is fast approaching.
All this means the teachers apparently mean business but we should clear up a few things first.
The notion that teachers have not been offered a raise is false. It is absolutely FALSE. The district has offered the teachers a small raise for at least two years of the three year contract. It has been described in a memo to Town Meeting handed out last week by the School Committee Chairwoman as a cost of living increase. Usually this means 2-3 percent. This is on top of the step increase teachers usually receive each year of 5 percent. Some union members don't consider a step increase a raise but in the real world when your pay increases and you are still doing the same job and still have the same job title it's called a raise.
I will not comment on the quality of education in town or whether the teachers actually deserve a raise; however, it should be noted that Framingham teachers make slightly more money than Natick teachers and this is after Natick teachers renegotiated their contract a few months ago. The last time I checked, Natick is a slightly more affluent community than Framingham.
Coming from a family of educators I am well aware of the challenges of teachers and the value of the profession. I also know that every teacher entering the profession knows full well that they are entering one of the lowest paying professions. The same goes for journalism.
But that's not to say teachers should roll over and play dead or grovel and be thankful for the pittance that is their salary.
What I question is the value of work to rule and a strike. Both moves do nothing more than hurt the children. The teachers make their point and attempt to hold the administration hostage but the children are caught in the middle. If teachers left the district for districts they believe pay them fairly it might be a more fitting protest but we all know that won't happen.
I can say with confidence that the teacher's tactics are not winning them many allies among parents. Some students are not taking kindly to the move either.
The administration is by no means innocent in this mess. I find it inexcusable that a contract was allowed to lapse for nearly a year. Intense negotiations should have been launched earlier.
When the union makes its pitch to Town Meeting for whatever raise is eventually agreed upon I would hope they can come up with a better reason for raises other than losing teachers to more affluent communities nearby. Framingham is a great town with a great school system but it is unfair to expect the town to pay its teachers Lincoln-Sudbury or Weston or Wellesley wages. Those more affluent communities have a tax base better suited to pay their teachers more. Framingham needs to keep pace with its peers not its rich neighbors.
What I would prefer is for the union to make comparisons to a regional average teacher pay for MetroWest, not the most expensive neighbors. This would be the most accurate way to see how Framingham measures up.

Teachers playing dangerous game	Friday, May, 7, 2004
Rob Haneisen	Framingham Tab
Similar to when Stapleton parents and staff had students and children making public appeals to save their school from budget cuts, Framingham teachers are using students and in some cases their own children to make the appeal for raises. Teachers have also implemented 'work to rule' practices which means they are out the door soon after classes are dismissed. The practice hurts extracurricular and after school activities with students who rely on teachers that don't receive stipends. Coaches, for example, receive stipends. Teachers have also resorted to take their picket lines and protests to the homes of certain school committee members, apparently to send a message. Some who have criticized the teachers' tactics have been met with harassing and threatening phone calls and other messages. A contract deadline next week is fast approaching. All this means the teachers apparently mean business but we should clear up a few things first. The notion that teachers have not been offered a raise is false. It is absolutely FALSE. The district has offered the teachers a small raise for at least two years of the three year contract. It has been described in a memo to Town Meeting handed out last week by the School Committee Chairwoman as a cost of living increase. Usually this means 2-3 percent. This is on top of the step increase teachers usually receive each year of 5 percent. Some union members don't consider a step increase a raise but in the real world when your pay increases and you are still doing the same job and still have the same job title it's called a raise. I will not comment on the quality of education in town or whether the teachers actually deserve a raise; however, it should be noted that Framingham teachers make slightly more money than Natick teachers and this is after Natick teachers renegotiated their contract a few months ago. The last time I checked, Natick is a slightly more affluent community than Framingham. Coming from a family of educators I am well aware of the challenges of teachers and the value of the profession. I also know that every teacher entering the profession knows full well that they are entering one of the lowest paying professions. The same goes for journalism. But that's not to say teachers should roll over and play dead or grovel and be thankful for the pittance that is their salary. What I question is the value of work to rule and a strike. Both moves do nothing more than hurt the children. The teachers make their point and attempt to hold the administration hostage but the children are caught in the middle. If teachers left the district for districts they believe pay them fairly it might be a more fitting protest but we all know that won't happen. I can say with confidence that the teacher's tactics are not winning them many allies among parents. Some students are not taking kindly to the move either. The administration is by no means innocent in this mess. I find it inexcusable that a contract was allowed to lapse for nearly a year. Intense negotiations should have been launched earlier. When the union makes its pitch to Town Meeting for whatever raise is eventually agreed upon I would hope they can come up with a better reason for raises other than losing teachers to more affluent communities nearby. Framingham is a great town with a great school system but it is unfair to expect the town to pay its teachers Lincoln-Sudbury or Weston or Wellesley wages. Those more affluent communities have a tax base better suited to pay their teachers more. Framingham needs to keep pace with its peers not its rich neighbors. What I would prefer is for the union to make comparisons to a regional average teacher pay for MetroWest, not the most expensive neighbors. This would be the most accurate way to see how Framingham measures up.

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