Should teacher of a financially failing school district pay for a share of their benefits?

Question

Our school district (like many others in Michigan) is in serious financial trouble. We are closing schools, laying off teacher, and staff, increasing class sizes. Meanwhile our teacher don't pay anything toward their own medical benefits. Is this right?

Answer 1

A large part of the financial strain is too many administrators, put the administrators back in the class room, everyone blames the teachers because it's an easy answer and politically popular because their union. If your company loses money this year, should they take it from you , when the CEO got a 10 Million Dollar bonus.

Answer 2

Teachers are no better than the hard working people that surround them. One difference is that those working for a living work 8 hours and often 10 to 12 hours a day, 240 days a year while teachers usually work 180 days or less. It is time Teachers understand the party is over and do their part to support the community by paying some of their medical cost. Teachers no longer need to grade papers long hours or make up as much work as before. They have teacher aids and administrative help to do assorted jobs.

Answer 3

In the State of Ohio, for example, to retain the teaching license now finds most educators obtaining a master's degree or having to log an inordinate amount of in-service hours. Back in the day in Ohio - under the teaching certification program - the preference may have been to hire educators with no post-graduate credit hours, since they would have been on the bottom rung of the pay scale. But at that time period, someone with a master's degree and no teaching experience probably was eying college academia, anyway.

Answer 4

My wife is a teacher and frankly we disagree about a lot of things regarding the governement school systems in America. And I get angry about a lot of the BS she has to put up with just to keep her job.

Anyone who decides to enter your profession are couragous to the extreme. That however does not excuse the fact that any time the governement runs ANYTHING, they mess it up and education is no different.

As long as we allow the government to control education we will have poor results regardless of how much money is thrown at it and eventually it will go bankrupt in exactly the same manner as social security, medicare and medicade.

This country is affluent and I truly believe that we have enough smart people in it to figure out a way to get the government out of the education business...while at the same time making schools that really educate our children and are in good shape financially. I have my own opinions as to what might be done, but they are mine at this time. The question is "Have you formulated an alternate plan for education in America that gets the Fed out of the business?" If you haven't, then you need to. And that goes for all teachers and non-teachers.

Get the government out of the education business NOW!

Answer 5

My advice to all teachers in Michigan and and the rest of the country is to get out soon. You are on a sinking ship. The US education system is simply a warehouse for young people. There is little educating going on and it is not producing qualified people to compete in the global marketplace. Children who have proper guidance and stimulation are incredible learners and their brains are being wasted and fried in the stagnated public school system.

Answer 6

No it's not right.Nothing about the teachers unions are right.I say we should be able to hire the best teachers and fire the worst.They amount of money payed to medical insurance should be comparable to other professions.But since where on the subject The government is on an even more unfair health care and retirement plan , they pay for nothing Ever.

Answer 7

The teachers in Michigan are amongst the highest paid in the nation. I think they need to adjust just as all businesses need to adjust.