Much is being made about deals being cut by unions representing teachers in various York County school districts.
The deals often involve early retirement for some teachers and in the case of one school district (Eastern) the union cut a deal that gives its members small increases of under 2 percent (increases for years of service with top paid teachers getting a $1,000 dollar lump sum).
The bottom line is that after these deals are made, property taxes will continue to go up in those school districts for the 2011-2012 school year starting July 1st.
In Dallastown, where a pay freeze request was made by the district to its teachers, it was estimated that 2.3 million dollars would be saved if all employees from administration on down (union and non-union) took a pay freeze for the next school year.
The offer was rejected by the Dallastown Area Education Association's president.
If the Pennsylvania State Education Association thinks these half way measures are the way to go, they are wrong to think so.
In the real world, people who pay property taxes have lost jobs, had their pay frozen or cut etc. in the recent economic slowdown.
Its time for public school employees in general in York County to "give back to the community" by taking a pay freeze.
And for administration led by the 150-thousand dollar a year league of superintendents its simply time for their pay to be cut up to 10 percent for the next school year.
These steps would be a major step towards eliminating the need for any property tax hikes next year.
In the Dallastown School District, the ten percent cut for administration would easily translate into an additional 400-thousand dollars worth of savings on top of the 2.3 million that would be saved by a pay freeze.
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