The on-again, off-again, on-again LA teachers strike which started again on January 14 isn’t just about increasing teacher salaries and hiring additional staff members. The LA teachers union is also demanding a crackdown on successful charter schools in the local area.
While about 30% of students in inner city schools are proficient in math, the same can be said of only 22% of LA students. Given this fact, it is not surprising that close to 250,000 students have either left the district or joined charter schools since 2003. In fact, there is currently a waitlist for kids to get into charter schools in the local area.
Naturally, the explosive, successful growth of charter schools in Los Angeles is enraging the city’s teachers union. Along with a host of other conditions, the union is demanding that the district pressure local lawmakers to limit charter school growth.
Of course, the union would never admit that it is actively asking lawmakers to stunt the growth of charter schools in order to limit or even eliminate the competition. Instead, the union is stating that it is demanding “accountability for charter schools.” However, given the fact that charter schools in the area are successful while public schools are not, it is hard to see why it is charter schools that need to be held accountable.
It would seem that Los Angeles’ best bet would be to expand successful charter schools so that local children can receive a high-quality education that their parents approve of. Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely to happen as local officials are more concerned with how to distribute additional funding to the public school system than with providing a good education. In fact, officials negotiating with the teachers union have already agreed to rigorously supervising charter schools. They will also raise teachers’ salaries by 6% and the invest more than $100 million into the failing public school system in order to hire more workers and reduce class size.
Even with unionists getting seemingly everything they asked for, these compromises aren’t enough. The union is incensed that the potential raise for teachers would result in a cut to future health care benefits. They’ve also begun demanding a 6.5 percent raise, stating 6 percent isn’t enough.
Sadly, it isn’t just public officials who are putting a priority on funding. The teachers union recently increased dues by 33% in order to make up for a funding shortfall caused by a decline in membership. It is likely that the union president is under pressure to show union members that the union is actually doing something on their behalf; otherwise, more members could leave.
Unfortunately, it is the parents and children who have to suffer while both sides squabble over funding, benefits and oversight. While the district has announced that it has hired substitute teachers and certified employees to temporarily take the places of those who are on strike, children and teenagers who are already struggling are certain to struggle even more without the assistance of their regular teachers. This is particularly true for special needs children who need consistent care.
It’s a sad day for America when local politicians prioritize the needs of adults who agreed to be public servants over the needs of children they are supposed to help.
~ Conservative Zone
How about REQUIRING teachers to have IQ that are a minimum 20 points higher than the average STUDENTS in their classrooms?
Ritalin is ‘administered’ to SMART STUDENTS that are BORED and their imaginations find other ways to escape the BOREDOM OF A LESS INTELLIGENT TEACHER!
In short, the STUDENTS are DRUGGED down to MORE STUPID to make the ‘teacher’ feel better.
NO person can teach ABOVE their own ability to COMPREHEND THE SUBJECT.
Let me be perfectly clear. I was a union president, in my school district, and the first and foremost thing this strike is about is for more money for teacher salaries, period. Next is to help reduce class size, which is a good idea. But remember, it does not take more money for accountability in the classroom.
Fire them ALL and hire more teachers. End their pension funds and bring them to court under the RICO statutes. Require civics and the Constitution be a condition for graduation, this way they will insist on better politicians for their futures and their families
We’re dumbasses and want to keep it that way? Sounds like the NEA to me! If you can’t teach a kid or get one to want to learn what good are you? You’re wasting space and air.
You have to Remember that the Teachers Union goal is Indoctrination not Education and any child that escapes their will is considered a Threat to the Future of Progressive Ignorance from actual Facts that can’t be Manipulated by Numbers.
More money for teacher salaries.
That is the only issue. Everything else is smoke, except for the end of Charter School competition that is an embarrassment to the public schools.
Teachers have to buy supply’s for the classroom with money from their pockets, while the bureaucrats make six figure salaries. The school board has allowed these bureaucrats to make high salaries while squeezing the classrooms so teachers have to purchase materials for the students. I do agree that the terachers union is made up socialist that don’t teach reading, writing and math. It’s all “politically correct” and not what most parents want their children to be exposed to. I think good teachers should be rewarded, it’s a hard job that’s not just eight hours a day, many hours after school and weekends.
I agree. Fire everyone, find out where taxpayer money really goes and that it obviously only helps teachers not the needs of students who are being indoctrinated against our country. Separate the meals from the school supplies. If Charter schools can make ends meet then public school needs to close up shop.
Unfortunately, it’s the kids that are losing! I used to teach/administrator. Gave it up for an Air Force career. Never looked back!
Education of students is not the only reason the teachers, teachers union and the socialist communist fascist racist liberal Degressive Democrat Party is against charter schools. It is about loosing the control and indoctrination of the students. They want to control what students are taught, only the changed History can be taught, this is why history will repeat itself. Real History is so important and needed
Donald Trump is trying to save this country from becoming a third world country. I am not so sure he’ll be able to do it in time. The Democrats have totally lost their minds, specially up in California.
I belief that charter schools is the only way to go. Teachers trying to politically alter children’s mind to be democratic is not there job and needs to stop. To clean out the educational system, either home school or massive charter systems. Who do these teachers think they are to manipulate the minds of our youth. Change needed ASAP. Charter schools nationally!
Unions of public employees are by definition illegal conspiracies against the general public – and should be illegalized!
We pulled our grand children from public schools at 8 and 11 years old, as they were already head and shoulders above the brain capacity of their supposed educators.
I agree with the accountability for charter schools. As a teacher in Columbus Ohio. I have felt the burn from Charter schools in the business of making money by taking money from public schools. Public schools could show gains if we too were allowed to limit class sizes and expell disruptive students. Public schools are under Federal regulations charter schools do not have your follow. Please don’t generalize information. Please be more informed.
They are losing to the charter schools . Charter schools turn out smarter students as well as home schooled . Government education is absolutely pathetic . They catered to the illegals . Trying to make them say their pledge allegiance to the Mexican flag and trying to make them into Muslims . I thank God mry children are grown men . Because if I had children needing schololing I would Hone school or if college age Hillsdale .
My comment has to do with your choice to use the LA abbreviation to designate the area of concern. We in Louisiana catch enough flak about our schools and don’t need any confusion with the Los Angeles area to make our day. I suggest that both the headline and the first sentence should have read Los Angeles rather than LA.
“accountability for charter schools.”
Translation GOVERNMENT dictatorial control of the curriculum the students are taught.
The complaints against charter, private, or home schooling is nothing more than the public school’s outrage that their PER STUDENT budget is reduced when parents who are fed up with a lack of actual education while trying to indoctrinate students into a SPECIFIC political belief system against their parents wishes move their students out of public government controlled schools.
Remember when schools are PUNISHING students over their personal religious beliefs, Support for CONSTITUTIONAL rights, How they PLAY WHEN AT HOME to how they eat a pop-tart (freaking out if they dare start by biting just one corner off) and everything not considered POLITICALLY CORRECT no parent that actually cares about their child and that child’s education that could afford to place them in a different school would put their child in a public “Politically Correctness enforcing” school to be indoctrinated into political beliefs that go against the US constitution and the FREEDOMS it states we have and that the government can never take away.
Ignoring the guidelines used by a JUDGE who ruled the Ten Commandments of the Christian faith can not be displayed in schools ,out of FEAR that the Children MIGHT OBEY THEM thus it equals the government imposing the religion upon them, they use the “DIVERSITY” excuse to display the Islamic equivalent apparently with no such concern that it IMPOSES the religion by students not just seeing them but in many cases forced to learn and recite them.
Having had a “teacher” in the home. I would NOT ever let my child into a public school if I had a choice! She was highly educated “Masters in Education” and was the dumbest person I ever met. Absolutely no common sense. Hummm sounds like a progressive liberal doesn’t it!!
START ALL OVER AGAIN. FIRE ALL THE TEACHERS, SUPERINTENDENT AND SELECT NEW BOARD OF
EDUCATION. TOO MANY STUDENT LUCK OF KNOWLEDGE OF CURRENT EVENTS, CAN’T READ, CAN’T
ADD AND MUTIPLY AND VERY POOR PENMANSHIP AND ABOVE ALL NO ” SHARIA LAW “. GIVEE TEST TO
ALL TEACHERS EVERY 5 -YEARS FOR BETTER QUALIFICATION. ISSUED TEXT BOOKS FOR THE STUDENT
BENFITS THAT COULD LEAD THEM FOR A BETTER LIFE AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT IS GOING
ON AROUND THE WORLD. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL THE TEACHER TOWARD THE STUDENT. MY
BACKGROUND. HIGH SCHOOL-CLASS PRESIDENT, SUBS TEACHER- GEN. SCIENCE, PHYSIC, MATH. AND
BIOLOGY. UNIVERSITY – CLASS PRESIDENT – ENGINEERING STUDENT. ( MECHANICAL). NOW – SEMI-
RETIRED – IN-CHARGE OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ESTIMATOR.