This must be bash Philadelphia day here at TDS blog. I'm so old, I can remember when people went into "public service" with the mindset of wanting to serve the public rather than line their own pockets. Guess that idea has become quaintly outmoded, as this article from NBC Philadelphia shows:
The Philadelphia School District has sent layoff notices to an additional 1,400 employees as it struggles to contain costs while facing a bleak budget picture.There is absolutely no justification for a school administrator to be paid a million dollars at any time, let alone as a buyout. You can call the unions unreasonable if you want, and many of them certainly are clueless about what is causing the funding crisis in school districts across the land. But personally, I think the compensation paid to this particular school executive is even more unreasonable.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the district issued the notices last week to blue-collar workers who clean buildings and attend to buses. The layoffs don't take effect until Dec. 31, 2012.
The district laid off nearly 850 similar workers in September. More than 1,000 teachers were laid off over the summer.
A district spokesman says the layoffs were necessary because the union rejected a contract extension that included $16 million in concessions. Union leaders say the proposal was rejected after the district paid nearly $1 million to buy out the contract of former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.
The apologists will say that the school district needs to pay top dollar to attract "top talent." To which I would reply that if School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is so damn talented, why is her contract being bought out?
Bonus: Frankly, kids, I think this whole fiasco provides you with quite an education about what's really wrong with your school system
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