A Teacher Speaks Out

A local California schoolteacher has singled out excessive benefits as one reason for the her district's budget shortfall:

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_11967689

Poor district leadership and an inadequate state budget are not the only reasons for East Side's problems. The sacred cow of the East Side Teachers Association is medical benefits that cost over $27.3 million a year. East Side is the only district of its size in Santa Clara County that pays 100 percent of employee benefits. Although admirable, this extracts an enormous financial toll. Add paid benefits for each member of the board of trustees and medical coverage for retirees under age 65, and the cost skyrockets.

Teachers' unions have set up a pyramid scheme where the older teachers reap the benefits of the system and leave scraps for incoming and younger teachers. It's time for a change, and unless more tenured union members are willing to cut their benefits or make sacrifices, children will continue to suffer.