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Washington View: Union grip on public schools threatens future of education

How will America survive in this competitive world if our public education system is tied in knots by union rules?

Recently, the Associated Press reported that hundreds of New York City public school teachers accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being paid full salary with benefits to sit around all day playing Scrabble, surfing the Internet or just doing what they please.

Why? Because their union makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fire them. So they are banished to the so-called "rubber room" waiting for months, even years, for their disciplinary hearings.

In New York City alone, taxpayers are forking over $65 million a year to pay their $70,000 annual salaries plus benefits. The city’s Department of Education puts the problem square at the feet of the union. "It is extremely difficult to fire a tenured teacher because of the protections afforded them in their contract," reports Ann Forte, a spokeswoman for the department.

The problem is nationwide. In Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest school district has 178 teachers and staff being housed while their misconduct charges are being resolved.

BY DON BRUNELL

Full Story: http://columbian.com/article/20090721/BIZ01/707219996/-1/BIZ

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