Budgeting On The Backs

Of The Unions

To the Editor:

Last week there was a meeting with the Educational Aides and Teachers Unions. In this meeting the members were informed that they had a choice between allowing their contracts to be opened up, allowing their pay and or benefits to get cut, or they would face significant lay-offs. The lay-offs would be from the teachers, the educational aides, the faculty staff, and the janitorial and custodial staff. In short, the cuts would be made of the people that interact with our children on a daily basis.

However, what was heard was the people at the administrative level are only facing a pay freeze. The people at the administrative level are not the people that interact with our children. These are not the people that have a direct impact on our children’s education on a daily basis. But these people are not facing lay-offs or benefit cuts.

I ask the administration how this is going to help? I ask if there were any other options explored before the decision was made to have this budget shortfall borne directly by the people that work with our children every day? Has the administration in this town gotten to the point that they no longer feel the need to consider how their actions are going to affect each and every child in public education in this town? Has the administration gotten to where the love of the power has blinded them to what their jobs were initially supposed to be?

In these economic times I understand cuts will need to be made that are not easy. I am not denying that. All of us in our households have had to make decisions about our budgets. My concern is that the administration is looking to put the brunt of the budget cuts off onto the lowest paid people in the education system without even offering to make some of the same sacrifices. These are people that are making much more per year than the teachers, janitors, educational aides, and support staff.

Sincerely,

Catherine B Michaud

Narragansett Trail, Sandy Hook                             January 20, 2009