Quote: Originally Posted by chiwii Isn't the Chicago school district funded primarily with property taxes? I agree that federal income taxes on the wealthiest should be raised, but that's not going to help the CPS budget anytime soon.

A city with the average household income of $46k can't support a school system the size of Chicago. Systems that large require state and federal funding.

Quote: No, those numbers do not include benefits. I agree that it's shame that the average household doesn't make more, but these are the households that fund the schools in the Chicago. Should property taxes be raised on the people of Chicago to fund the ever increasing salaries of the teachers? How will another tax increase affect the low and middle class in Chicago, who have already seen wages and property values decrease?

Families with the average household income of $46k are most likely not homeowners, so property value would be largely irrelevant at the level you're talking about. And as for "another tax increase," taxes are at a historical low and Obama has repeatedly renewed tax cuts for everyone.

If education is constantly seeing cuts, what makes you think that salaries are constantly increasing? "Ever increasing" my ass. If the school system wants to increase their classroom hours by 30%, I don't think that at 4% raise is ing unreasonable.

Quote: We can ask why workers wages are low, but, really, what can the teachers union, the school board, or the mayor of Chicago do about that?

Absolutely nothing and that's why your point about the average household income relative to the average teacher's salary is irrelevant to the issue at hand. I'm glad you managed to figure that out.

Quote: The budget won't allow the school district to continue operating as it has in the past, plus give the teachers relatively generous raises. Foregoing raises might not save everything, but they could keep some programs going, keep some schools open, and prevent some lay-offs.

School systems don't work that way and 4% is not ing generous. If the average salary is $75k for 9 months/39 weeks of work, that translates to $10 whole ing dollars FOR THE EXTRA 1.5 HOURS PER DAY. They're pretty much asking to have their lunch and coffee covered as well as the amount being LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE.

Quote: I don't know that it's factual to say that I don't know shit about the educational system, but whatever. What's your source for the secret that the SAT/ACT (and therefore all standarized tests) are bullshit?

If you're asking me for a source, then it's pretty goddamn accurate to say that you know next to nothing about the education system.

Quote: The immediate problem is that the teachers are on strike, and kids in Chicago who depend on public schools aren't able to go to school. There are problems with the entire educational system, sure, but they aren't going to be solved in these contract negotiations.

It won't fix the system, but it'll draw attention to it's issues. Too bad people would rather rabble-rouse about teachers and their extra $10 for another hour and a half than pay attention to the issues they're bringing up.