Tyranny of The Minority
- on 09.03.05
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Board member, Mike Davitt, of the Naperville District 203 are tired of the tyranny of the minority where teachers can hold the district and the children of the district hostage to their demands. I have written about whether teachers should be allowed to strike as well. Mike is very clear in what happened in Naperville and why it should be stopped. I have excerpts below, but you can read the full articles here and here. (Hat tip: CRAFT) Mike also has a great quote from Ben Franklin, “He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”
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There is a simple way to describe this negotiation experience: tyranny of the minority. The board began this process several months ago, keeping in mind our elected responsibility to represent our entire community—thirteen hundred teachers, thousands of parents, 19,000 students, and tens of thousands of taxpayers. The union came to the table with them in mind. They also came to the table with the ability to strike—a tactic that shamelessly treats kids as pawns. Historically, contract negotiations have been based upon comparing financial data points from five other similar districts—our so-called “benchmarks†(a group of districts already among the highest paid in Illinois). It’s a practice of “keeping up with the Jones’s†even when a district cannot afford to. Using financial data points was an agreeable concept to the union…back when the data points favored them. This time around, however, the financial data points supported smaller raises. So instead of using financial data points this time, the union chose instead to use ACT scores as their new rally cry. In other words, use financial data points when they work in your favor; come up with something else when they don’t. In assuming full credit for our ACT scores, the union now reasoned pay should correlate to our district’s high ACT rank relative to our other benchmark districts. Point of contention: parents and socioeconomics are the key predictors of student performance. Need proof? Look no further than Benet Academy—higher ACT scores and lower teacher salaries. Is the IEA going to officially acknowledge District 203 teachers as being better than teachers in District 204, Wheaton, Elmhurst, St. Charles, and Barrington? I’m in no way discounting the value of teachers. I’m merely responding to their union’s tactics and infuriating rhetoric. Their lead union negotiator, for example, was quoted as saying: “You [Naperville] want a Cadillac education but are only willing to pay Chevy prices.†He makes a six-figure salary and drives an Acura. Imagine living in a community where parents and taxpayers have been experiencing raises of 0%-3% (and layoffs) and the teachers, with 183-day salaries averaging over $63,000, threaten to strike with a 4.99% offer on the table claiming they are not getting enough respect. What an absolute insult to the community. One email I received said, “My husband and I have not received raises from our employers in over four years.†Another email shared the story of an exceutive laid off who took a job selling bicycles. Representative Meyer and Senator Dillard may want to rethink their unwillingness to support such legislation. Perhaps Rep. Dunn will take a leadership role. If there was ever a case study to support of the need for anti-strike legislation, what just happened to the people here in Naperville is it. Negotiations should be conducted out in the open—the board has nothing to hide. The NUEA does not want this to happen. They would prefer the public be kept in the dark. Congratulations to the union. You successfully held the board, the community, and the students hostage with your threat to strike. Your inflated sense of entitlement is now going to have a ripple-effect. Our five-year revenue growth is forecasted to be less than 4% per year. As a result, deficit spending could begin as early as 2007-08. Taxpayers deserved better. NUEA President Dave Griffith was quoted Sunday as saying, “If the tentative agreement that we have now goes down, what happens next? Frankly, I have no idea, but it won’t be pleasant.” Our Manners Matrix would classify that comment as an example of “bullying.†The time has come to stand up to these bully tactics, and put a stop to this tyranny of the minority. |
This topic of how Naperville teachers battered the Board and left the parents and especially the children out to dry are atrocious. This will be discussed by Bruno of Extreme Wisdom this Sunday when his radio show returns to the airwaves from 8-10 AM on WIND AM 560. You can read Bruno’s response to the Naperville Teachers here.
