…while asking for ways to make them smaller.
That’s my take from this story in today’s DNT about the status of the Contract talks.
“The Duluth teachers union is attempting to lower class sizes through contract negotiations by way of a capped number of students in a teacher’s day in middle and high schools, or more pay if the number goes beyond that. It also wants more money for teachers willing to work in low-performing schools and who juggle two grades in one classroom.”
Union President, Frank Wanner, wants to use the District’s meager resources to bring down the secondary class sizes. There is only one practical way to do that. Raise the number of students in elementary classes. I know damn well the banks who were glad to take operations money to repay their bonds will take a dim view of our reneging on the debt repayments. The banks and our contracts with them take precedence over our schools and our children.
One alternative would be to ratchet back health insurance coverage and raise deductibles. Perhaps with so many senior teachers retiring the younger teachers could assert themselves and demand this concession to lower class sizes.
