North country teachers could face harsh decisions

North country schoolteachers are about to be mugged. It won't be fair, but muggings never are.

As the national and state economies continue to collapse, there will be an increased public demand that schoolteachers, whose union contracts are about to expire, agree not to take pay raises. Meanwhile, teachers who signed contracts in the last year are going to be asked to reopen their contracts and take pay cuts.

And when teachers say, "Thanks, but no thanks," some taxpayers — who are having their own salaries cut or are losing their jobs — are going to start complaining that teachers are always the first to avoid shared sacrifice.

Like I said, it won't be fair.

You can look at every public servant in the north country — the Dulles State Office building is a target-rich environment — and request the same thing.

How is your department responding to the pending collapse of our economy, which now features 10 percent local unemployment?

"Well, you see, our office is actually connected directly to Albany, and we will respond as we are directed by the governor's office, and so there is not quite the direct connection to the local economy and our office as you suggest ..."

What about municipal government? Sounds good to me. But it always ends up being the same question: whom do you want to get rid of first, cops, firefighters or snowplow drivers?

And as you pause to think about it, nothing happens.

Schools are more than teachers. But there are only so many administrators to squeeze money out of. And who wants to go after janitors and bus drivers?

The first warning shot was fired in Potsdam last month when the district asked the teachers union to reopen its contract. The teachers politely declined.

The problem for teachers, however, is that they feel so ambushed when such a request is made that they come up with answers that hurt their cause.

Here is what teachers union President Anthony A. Vaccaro said in a letter to Superintendent Patrick H. Brady: "Our members are already experiencing greater financial burdens. Many have lost money in their investments. Others must cope with higher college tuitions and increased taxes. Our members have frequently contributed to organizations in need and continue to do so."

And many people who read that comment responded, "So what is your point? Who hasn't lost money in their investments? Who doesn't have higher college tuitions and increased taxes? Why does a teacher think these things are uniquely more painful to them?"

See what I mean? Teachers are about to be cornered, and everything they say is going to be used against them.

In the cross hairs right now are the teachers of Watertown, Thousand Islands, Beaver River, Lyme and Sackets Harbor, among others. They are all going to be approached with the question, "Can you do something for us?"

They will be reminded that most teachers receive a small step raise each year even if they don't receive a new contract that calls for the standard 3.5 percent raise every year.

They will be reminded that Pomco, their insurance company, has just about the best coverage and lowest co-pays in the north country.

And they will be reminded that district taxpayers can't afford to pay more in school taxes.

It will be your classic triangulation.

No north country school board has any experience in producing a no-raise budget, so you won't hear many board members providing their budget-cutting theory in public.

Teachers will make the usual rebuttals. Such as: Most of them spend their own money on students throughout the school year because they can't get enough money to do all the things they want in the classroom. When is somebody going to cover THAT expense?

(Based on the behavior of today's students and the enabling attitude of their parents, you could also make the argument that teachers are a bargain at $40,000-$70,000 a year if they go through185 school days without killing anyone. Think how much that lawsuit would cost...)

If school districts are able to reduce their spending without touching teacher salaries it will be a pretty neat trick.

But I think the rabbit is too big for the hat.

School boards years ago were offered state money to consolidate all of our 400- to 1,000-student districts so they could reduce administrative costs in the future. They didn't do it. Instead, they all signed off on an explosion of new construction ("The state will pay 95 percent!") to ensure that consolidation will never occur.

Now, everyone is going to say there isn't enough money for education. You know what that means.

Might as well order the bumper stickers now: "Have you mugged a teacher today?"

Bob Gorman is managing editor of the Times.