Centsless Lip Service

The teachers and school board of District 109 in Deerfield are still negotiating a contract, even though we are well into the school year. This process has become so contentious that they need a federal mediator. What has taken so long? Why have things become so adversarial?

Of course, in these difficult economic times, school boards are under pressure to cut costs and teachers want to increase salaries. That is certainly part of the issue here. According to newspaper reports, class size, special education, outdoor teacher responsibilities, and teacher benefits are also sticking points.

While all the parties would agree that the bottom line is doing what is good for kids, how each side achieves this goal reflects their values. Values are more than what they say. Real values are what we live. We spend our money on what is truly important; regardless of what we profess.

The larger question isn’t about District 109 or any particular contract point. The question is, why are we bickering over our children’s education? Almost everyone gives lip service to the value of education. How many times does someone say something like, “Teachers should be paid more.”? Does anyone really believe that? Is anyone one willing to put cents (or sense) to this lip service?

There may be a minority who would plunk down additional dollars (and their children may be in private education), but as recent referendums have shown, a majority of people would like to get as much as they can for as little as possible. And as my grandmother said, “you get what you pay for.”

Funding is at the heart of the issues in District 109 and thousands of districts across the country. We don’t have enough money for education. We aren’t willing to pay for what we say we want. We want education, healthcare, retirement benefits, and many other services, but we don’t want to pay for them. We say we value them. We say they are important, but we are unwilling to open our wallets.

We rationalize. Money is being wasted. We want a good value. Other people pay less. There are ways to cut costs. These are not arguments; these are excuses. Online learning, test scores, school days, unions, and other topics do not even come close to the real issues. We want a world-class education for our children, but we want other people to pay for it. Yes, the system is broken. In a perfect world, we’d pay people by the importance of their jobs to society. Blah, blah, blah, blah. This tired rhetoric leaves our children in the cold.

The solution isn’t simple. The fix is going to be difficult, expensive, and painful. And it will take a long time. Taxpayers and politicians (and school boards) don’t like that. They would prefer quick, cheap, and easy. I don’t want quick, cheap, and easy for our children.

Our actions belie our words. Our choices demonstrate our real values. Education isn’t important enough for us to spend additional money. We don’t value teachers, learning, or schools. We don’t think that what happens in schools is important, although we may say it frequently. Our every collective action screams that education is at the bottom of our list. Our system spells it out (although sometimes incorrectly). Our choices make our priorities clear. The education crisis in America is caused by the underlying belief that almost everything (certainly banks, guns, corporations, and the privileged few) is more important than our children’s education.

No wonder District 109 can’t come to an agreement.