Last Friday, The Seattle Times had an opinion piece demanding that the legislature crack down on teachers unions that strike. And in almost a throwaway line, they miss the goddamn solution to many of the strikes:
The next economic forecast will not bring good news. A deficit between $1 billion and $2 billion may force lawmakers to look again for cuts in education. We don’t think they should do that, but the point is districts ought not enter long-term contracts based on old financial assumptions. What if that money is no longer there?
More than hard stances against teachers, the Seattle Times should demand that the legislature do more to fund education. They might suggest *gasp* tax increases to pay for that. Maybe get serious about closing loopholes. Maybe reexamine their opposition to an income tax. See, then money won’t be such a sticking point, we’ll be able to open schools on time, and you know, educate the state’s children better.
Teachers spend a hell of a lot more time working without contracts than they do on strike. The whole editorial is a load of BS.
Well f*ck all.
I guess the only reasonable action is to shut down all the schools.
Seriously, long term contracts are thought by these yahoos to increase cost uncertainty?
Hopefully with school starting these 5th graders will be too busy with their school work and won’t have the time to print this on my puppy’s excrement collector; The Seattle Times.
Why is anyone surprised the fishwrapper is a newsletter for Scott Walker’s party? It’s been that for, oh, a hundred years.
That fishwrapper gets a nice tax break from the state. How about giving teachers an ID card that gives them a 40% break from sales taxes? Surely the Times could get behind that.