Teachers Union cost Colorado $175 million in education funds

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_15882204

Colorado's largest teachers union stubbornly refused to support Colorado's Race to the Top bid and it ended up being a major factor in the state being shut out of big-money federal education grants announced Tuesday. The Colorado Education Association must be tickled.

The decision means Colorado schools have lost out on a grant potentially worth $175 million. And, we must point out, the chief reason the union opposed the state's bid, Senate Bill 191, is still state law.

Way to go, CEA.

Close scrutiny of the results of the federal review of Colorado's application makes clear how severely the state was graded down because of the teachers union lack of support.

Local districts, which would have gotten a significant portion of the grant money, still will have to implement the promised reforms. They just won't have the federal cash to help pay for it.


Another disheartening portion of the Race to the Top results had to do with the scores attributed to the state's groundbreaking teacher tenure bill. The application appears to have been marked down for lack of union support for the measure

People all over the country were shocked that Colorado did not get one of the top 10 spots as they were almost considered a shoe in for the money. I know people in the Capital and they are devastated by this and the way the teachers unions lost us this money. It is ironic how they want more money but they fight against the one chance we have at getting at least $175 million. When SB 191 was passed and signed by Ritter, it was one of the things I catually agreed with him on and the whole country thought it was a great aggressive reform bill. But the Unions and all their greed fought it and now cost this state $175 million at least and now will have to explain to their union members why they don't have the money for the things they need.

This is why the teachers unions need to come to an end. They hurt our kids education so much more than they help them.

Unions of today are not the same as they use to be and I am tired of their greed hurting Americans and in this case our kids. They need to be disbanded. Especially the teachers union. They have lost sight of what is best for America's children.

I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

AspenValley wrote: I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

Fair enough. There are a lot of articles out about it in the last few days. Colorado suppodely had it locked up but they really docked our state for no support from the teachers union.

Oh, and I do agree that unions still serve a purpose in certain industires. This is just about the teachers union.

Ohhh..A 175 million dollars...Scary

Taxpayers in Colorado will pay $2.6 billion for proposed total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending in FY2011. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided: 43,934 Elementary School Teachers for One Year





Once again
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/trade ... +Trade+Off

AspenValley wrote: I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you...People making and spending money in our community is ALWAYS a good thing no matter what profession they are in..Wages have been stagnant for 30 years, we gotta get em up across the board, and c'mon, teaching is one of the most underpaid proffesions there is- you people act like they're rich or something? I don't see to many Escalades or Jaguars in the Deer Creek School parking lot.

And furthermore-who are YOU to say they should'nt have the right organize? Its like saying people can't talk to eachother, WTF?

Honestly-I Lost a little respect for ya here AV

Come on, cut the hyperbole. The key reason we did not get funding was because our model of local contral is so different from what you see in states back east that the people scoring the application could not understand how effective auditing and control could be exercised here.

Vice Lord wrote:

AspenValley wrote: I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you...People making and spending money in our community is ALWAYS a good thing no matter what profession they are in..Wages have been stagnant for 30 years, we gotta get em up across the board, and c'mon, teaching is one of the most underpaid proffesions there is- you people act like they're rich or something? I don't see to many Escalades or Jaguars in the Deer Creek School parking lot.

And furthermore-who are YOU to say they should'nt have the right organize? Its like saying people can't talk to eachother, WTF?

Honestly-I Lost a little respect for ya here AV

Oh, the topic of whether teachers are underpaid is a whole 'nother ballgame!

My objection to teacher unions doesn't have diddly to do with salaries.

But I will stand by my opinion that unions and working on the public dime don't really mix for other reasons.

AspenValley wrote:

Vice Lord wrote:

AspenValley wrote: I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you...People making and spending money in our community is ALWAYS a good thing no matter what profession they are in..Wages have been stagnant for 30 years, we gotta get em up across the board, and c'mon, teaching is one of the most underpaid proffesions there is- you people act like they're rich or something? I don't see to many Escalades or Jaguars in the Deer Creek School parking lot.

And furthermore-who are YOU to say they should'nt have the right organize? Its like saying people can't talk to eachother, WTF?

Honestly-I Lost a little respect for ya here AV

But I will stand by my opinion that unions and working on the public dime don't really mix for other reasons.

Teachers are a cost of having a school, just like the bricks and motar used to build them. The teachers set their price, they can't talk to eachother, they can form a group, and they can select a person to speak on their behalf..Thats all a union is. You're not gonna outlaw that, not in my America you aren't

Vice Lord wrote:

AspenValley wrote:

Vice Lord wrote:

AspenValley wrote: I think unions still serve a purpose in some industries, but it seems to me that teachers aren't exactly being expolited by "greedy factory owners". They are public servants and I don't think public servants should be allowed to form unions. Teachers, especially, have enough job protection as it is. It is practically impossible to fire a teacher with tenure.

That said, I don't know enough about this issue the Viking has linked to to have an opinion, but I also have reservations about funds for local schools coming from federal funds. So maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise, couldn't say without doing more research.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you...People making and spending money in our community is ALWAYS a good thing no matter what profession they are in..Wages have been stagnant for 30 years, we gotta get em up across the board, and c'mon, teaching is one of the most underpaid proffesions there is- you people act like they're rich or something? I don't see to many Escalades or Jaguars in the Deer Creek School parking lot.

And furthermore-who are YOU to say they should'nt have the right organize? Its like saying people can't talk to eachother, WTF?

Honestly-I Lost a little respect for ya here AV

But I will stand by my opinion that unions and working on the public dime don't really mix for other reasons.

Teachers are a cost of having a school, just like the bricks and motar used to build them. The teachers set their price, they can't talk to eachother, they can form a group, and they can select a person to speak on their behalf..Thats all a union is. You're not gonna outlaw that, not in my America you aren't

No, that's not all a union is, unfortunately, and especially not when it involves employees who are providing a public service the taxpayers are dependent on.

I'm totally cool with teachers or anyone else having the right to band together to say "WE"RE NOT WORKING FOR PEANUTS!" but I do arch an eyebrow when the union discussion devolves into topics like "YOU CAN'T FIRE SH**TY TEACHERS!"...