Teachers Laid Off

People better start getting used to the idea that we, as a county, state, and nation need to start cutting back. We have lived beyond our means for too long, and tough decisions will dominate the political landscape for some time to come - unless we do nothing, and are then prepared to face bankruptcy.

65 people who work for the school system in my county just got laid off.

http://journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/574406/Board-backs-all-RIF-layoffs.html?nav=5006

If Jefferson County taxes are raised, people get upset. If teachers are laid off, people get upset.  If the school levy goes up, people get upset. When our county's share of the gambling revenues at the track can only be used for capital improvements at the schools, people get upset.  What do people think we are supposed to do when the school board faces a $5.4 million shortfall in its budget? There was a big protest today to these layoffs. It's tough-decision time, people - get used to it.

My county's school board laid off 65 school personnel today to help fill that $5.4 million shortfall in their budget.  Even with these cuts, they still remain about $4 million short.  Plenty of people showed up today to protest the cuts. 

http://journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/574405/School-cuts-protested.html?nav=5006

I don't recall hearing/reading about any alternative solutions these protesters had though.  People, you can't just bitch about tough decisions being made just because you want to have your cake and eat it too.  If you don't want teachers laid off, then what?  Cut out the books and pencils?  Get rid of the school buses?  No desks?  I've yet to hear anyone consider that the teachers' unions should stop extorting the school boards around the country - that would alleviate a lot of fiscal stress.  They push school boards into a fiscal corner and then bitch when the school board tries to escape.  It's not like the school board is just being stubbornly frugal for Christ's sake.  Something had to give eventually, and today something did, and no one is relishing in it, but I've never known life to be easy or fair.  Unless you're in a union, maybe.

A lot of times, in situations like these, federal money relieves the fiscal stress locally. But all that does is pass the problem up a few levels. All the money at all the levels comes from the same place - our paychecks. We can't continue to fund everything forever, but no one wants to cut anything.  I wish our national politicians would start making tough decisions.  They ought to dump the federal Dept. of Education altogether.

Unfortunately, those we elect to make these tough decisions are usually too cowardly to put their political life on the line to save our nation. At least the local officials in Jeff. Co. made a tough decision to fix a problem in the long-term. I understand the pain that the protesters today felt, but a little pain now is better than a lot of pain later. It's one or the other.  And this is already a lot of pain somewhat later, but the longer you let it lie, the more pain builds up waiting to be unleashed.  Unions don't understand this.  They want more, more, more, and when the golden goose is dead, they villify the goose.  They'd rather enjoy a few years of the spoils of extortion than a few more years of fair recompense that would contribute to systemic stability rather than undermine it.  And what message is sent when our fearless politicians bail out companies that are collapsing under the weight of union extortion, while turning a blind eye to the extorters?  It delays the inevitable, condones the extortion, wastes OUR money, and keeps the weak cog in place.  Back to the education issue...

Spending on education has increased dramatically over the last few decades, with no improvement at all in the education itself. Test scores have been stagnant for 30 years while a graph of spending on education rises steadily at a 45 degree angle over the same time period.  There will be many more days and decisions like this to come. The alternative is bankruptcy, which should not be considered a viable option to anyone. Hiding your head in the sand is also not a real option. 

Spread the word and vote - that's all a single person can do.  Added up, those individual words and votes can change things though.  I wish us the best of luck.