I wondered when they would get around to this:
The head of the Fort Wayne Community Schools' teachers union reacted cautiously today to a call for his members to join the district's administrators in accepting a pay freeze as part of $15 million in spending cuts.
Responding to a proposal made Thursday by FWCS Board President Mark GiaQuinta, Fort Wayne Education Association President Al Jacquay noted that the district's 2,000 teachers did not receive a raise this year and have not had a chance to discuss whether to also forego their annual “step” increase, which would save the district about $1.9 million per year.
Salaries are far the biggest item in most budgets, and FWCS is no exception. When times get tough, the choice can be between letting people go or asking people to accept less. FWCS can freeze administrative salaries on its own and is going to do that, but that will save onlu about $260,000.
We can all appreciate Jacquay's caution on behalf of his teachers, and sympathize with them for not getting a "raise" this year, although they did get their step increase. But a lot of people out here in the private sector have either lost their jobs or had to take cuts in pay, never mind a mere salary freeze. If teachers want to keep the public's sympathy, they should be very careful about how they respond to this request.
