Reject the Teacher Tax

[proud2BlibKansan]

By William Rogers
Opinion | February 6, 2010

PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. - As Kansas faces a budget crisis a disturbing trend has developed. It is the special tax being levied on teachers. In many school districts teachers are being asked to take pay cuts. No one blames them for the fiscal crisis. We all agree they are already under paid. So why to some want to balance the state budget on the backs of teachers? The pay cuts amount to a special tax on teachers.

Can you imagine the outrage if we demanded a special tax on bankers or god forbid, lawyers? Balancing our books on the backs of teachers is just as bad.

When our legislature doesn't do its job the costs are passed on to others. Will the legislature have the courage to face this fiscal crisis? Will they come up with specific spending cuts and extra revenue? Or will they pass the buck to local governments, school districts, and state employees?

We are already seeing school district after school district ask teachers to shoulder the burden alone. It is not fair. We cannot ask our teachers to pay the cost for all of us.
Will those who have been opposed to tax hikes stand up and oppose this special tax?

Will all of us ask for tax fairness instead of passing the burden on to a small segment of out society?

More to the point will our legislature stand up and do the right thing. We all have some responsibility in this fiscal crisis. We must all shoulder the responsibility. Let's all oppose pay cuts for teachers. Those pay cuts are in reality a special tax on our teachers.

A very unfair tax. Let us all demand NO TEACHER TAX!

http://www.kansasfreepress.com/2010/02/reject-the-teacher-tax.html

[Catshrink]

1. What??????

Unbelievable!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. GOP majority in the state capitol

Hopefully not for long. Even the GOP base here wants our schools funded fairly.

[LWolf]

3. We took a (temporary) cut last spring,

and another "cut" in the fall as a calendar cut; cutting the # of school days in the year cuts the # of days we work, so we earn less.

We're hoping to avoid another cut this spring.

But those cuts were bargained by our association as part of larger budget cuts, in order to save some jobs, and we voted on them.

[Catshrink]

4. We accepted that last year to save jobs.

This year we're saying no to that for two reasons:

1) Riffing will raise class sizes which is a visible sign of what's happening. If we take another salary cut no one notices. Larger classes are difficult for the reasons we all know well (those of us who are teachers anyway) but this is the way parents will see it. This is a conservative community where a far RW state legislator continues to be reelected. He's one of the problems on a statewide level. Let the finger pointing begin. We want parents to see the results of their votes for this guy.

2) If we take another salary cut we'll never get it back and continue the trend to Wal-Mart wages for teachers.

[Hannah Bell]

5. ridiculous.

[adnelson60087]

6. Teachers in Detroit

were asked for a $10,000 "loan" from this year's salary starting last month so the district wouldn't fold. I can't imagine the morale of that situation, but it must be terrible.

[mzteris]

7. ridiculous!

of course most teachers are "just women" - or men who can't get a "REAL JOB!"

I would hope :sarcasm: wasn't necessary, but then again I am the - gasp! - enemy!!!! around here. . . lol


Teachers don't get paid near enough as it is! Ask the gd legislators or other government officials making more than three figures to "take a cut", huh? ? Think THAT would fly?!? Hell no! They're MANLY MEN OF POWER who have families to support (in luxury) and kids to send to PRIVATE frickin' schools and vacations to take.

Jerks.

did you see the thing I posted about a grassroots movement in WI to "add a penny" to the sales tax to be used just for education? It has it's problems, but at least people are trying to think outside of the box. (My favorite place to think!)