The “union”
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Anonymous
NOVA salaries are already pretty high. And part of any salary increase will go back to the unions, because dues will be mandatory. |
Anonymous
All of how many? 4,000? It's not a large percentage. |
Anonymous
No, I don’t. i have had to file a form 3 different times. The first time I had to send it directly to the Insurance company. Nothing happened. Then twice again, but this time I was told to give it to HR. I just would like to get it taken care of. |
Anonymous
Some parents prioritize schools...but generally they don’t want to spend money on them. Look at school budgets and the push to send their kids to public universities. Everyone is clamoring to get into a handful of good schools. Overall, our communities and state & local governments don’t value education as much as other areas. Look at per pupil spending. Look at how they treat teachers. |
Anonymous
You value education? Put your money where your mouth is. Raise taxes. Fund schools. And respect teachers. Don’t crap on them. YOU are the problem. |
Anonymous
FCPS spends $16,500 per pupil. https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps That’s almost $5000 more than the national average or state average. https://www.governing.com/archive/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html FCPS is incredibly well funded. I grew up in the South and my mother was a public school teacher. You have no idea. And I’ve had kids in the system since 2007. I always respected teachers. Until last fall. Respect isn’t something you are entitled to. It’s also something earn and something that can be lost. |
Anonymous
WRONG! Not the person to whom you are responding. First, I was a teacher. So, yes, I respect teachers. Most teachers work very hard to do the right thing. But, here's the issue: the unions don't really speak for the teachers. The problem is not the lack of funds, the problem is how the funds are spent. I have seen up close the waste in school systems. I have seen Title I money get filtered off by the bureaucracy when I was teaching Title I kids. Just look at all the waste in FCPS--I'm guessing the money spent on consultants is in the millions. We don't see most of it. Sure, there are some egregious things--like spending tens of thousands of dollars for a speaker for our administrators--when the kids are not even in buildings. Look at what is going on now with our SB and "Anti-racism." They will spend big bucks on things like "Critical Race Theory" which is a troubling philosophy-and not "scientific." It throws out everything that MLK stood for. And, just watch--our SB will spend lots and lots of money on this. They will also "train" teachers --maybe even hire subs in order to train them. People need to learn what 'anti-racism" is. It sounds good, but it is anything but not racist. FCPS is drinking the Kool Aid and it will be very expensive Koolaid. It will also damage our society. Meanwhile, our very poor kids----many of whom happen to be Black and Brown--are suffering at the hands of a Superintendent and School Board that does not have the guts to do the right thing and get the kids back in school. As for raising taxes--that is a 'simple" answer that will make some people feel good, but it will not fix the problem. The money is already there. It is just not being spent properly. Concentrate on education and the social justice will be resolved. Instruction is the best social justice. Just like a jobs are the best way to help families. Reduce Gatehouse. Reduce consultants. Spend money where it will help students--that happens to be in the classroom. Look at everything through a value lens--will the money spent help our kids learn better? Just think of all the kids who have been given computers who already have computers--and, likely better computers than the school ones. Was that a wise purchase? How about ensuring that the kids who don't have computers have the support they need to use the ones they are given? Wouldn't that be money better spent? (Also, has anyone done an audit on those computer contracts? Were they purchased at the best price? Who made the decisions? When I was teaching, I saw how the textbook companies would wine and dine the decision makers. Pretty sure that could happen here, as well. ) No more money or higher taxes as long as kids are at home. The funds should be sufficient--especially since so many are now turning to private or homeschool. |
Anonymous
This is incorrect. VA remains a Right to Work state even with collective bargaining. Membership will not be compulsory to employment and dues can’t be collected from non-members (see the Janus Supreme Court decision). Striking will still be illegal. CB doesn’t change those things. |
Anonymous
OK. VA spends more per student than the crappiest school systems - is that your argument? It still falls behind areas with better schools systems. Generally, there is very little respect for teachers. And look at how so many parents have treated them during the pandemic. It's revolting. Virginia does not prioritize education. |
Anonymous
Yes, even if some of the school districts allow collective bargaining (they aren't required to do so), the "teacher unions" will have limited funds and therefore limited ability to shape public policy. They aren't allowed to strike. There is just very little they can do because of VA policy. VA "teacher unions" will still be very limited in their influence. |
Anonymous
Thank you for proving my point that parents don't really prioritize education. (or anti-racism) I do agree that large school systems like FCPS are too bloated and seem to have INefficiencies in scale. But that is a different conversation. |
Anonymous
| I think the ultimate issue here is that no matter how much DCUM wants to fantasize about firing teachers there aren't enough people to replace them. Even if you changed licensure requirements there wouldn't be enough. |
Anonymous
| What I as a parent have taken away from this discussion is that, assuming most teachers don't actually stand for the FEA position and hystronics, they should all join the third and least political union (AFPE, right?) and set that one up as the collective bargaining entity. That would position teachers to best advocate for what they actually need and what would actually benefit students, rather than platforming for political causes. |
Anonymous
Talk about painting with a broad brush. I'm not a PP, but this thread is really depressing. |