Phil Cooke

Why Bureaucrats Drive Me Nuts

I know, I know.  This is a blog about media and faith.  But sometimes I have to vent.  I’ve written before about how difficult it is to fire teachers in Los Angeles – even when they’re under investigation for sexual improprieties with students. Now, World Magazine reports it could be worse in New York City. According to World:

“Where can a person get paid $70,000 or more per year to play Scrabble, write a novel, or surf the internet? How about New York City’s public schools where 700 suspended teachers have waited as long as six years for disciplinary hearings. Thanks to tough union laws, these suspended teachers—accused of such acts as insubordination, lying, or cheating—receive full pay and holidays while barred from classrooms at an annual cost of $65 million, according to a recent Associated Press investigation. As cases are reviewed by arbitrators working just five days a month, teachers spend eight-hour days in designated “rubber rooms” reading, sleeping, doing yoga, painting, or generally passing the time.”