A teacher pay cut in disguise is not a solution
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool, shown Feb. 29, 2016, hasn't said when the school system will stop picking up 7 percentage points of the 9 percent pension contribution required of teachers. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
I may be getting a 7 percent pay cut by April 1 from Chicago Public Schools. CPS CEOForrest Claypool is disguising it as an elimination of the school system's pension pickup instead of actually using the term "pay cut." But to a 12-year veteran nowhere near retirement, this is clearly a pay cut. Claypool should call it what it is instead of connecting it to the word "pension," which conjures up so many negative connotations from taxpayers, politicians and private-sector employees that it makes the thinly disguised action by Claypool and the Chicago Board of Education seem reasonable.My pension is my primary retirement fund just as Social Security is the primary retirement source for workers in the private sector. Currently, the CBOE funds 7 percent of my pension, and I pay 2 percent. This type of setup is not unique to Chicago. According to the Illinois Policy Institute, more than two-thirds of school districts in Illinois pay for portions or all of their teachers' pension contributions. Yet, this year, only Chicago teachers' pension pickups are being threatened with elimination, even though many school districts in Illinois severely underfund teacher pensions.
Pensions are not just a local and statewide problem. According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, 40 states inadequately fund their public school teacher pension systems. Chicago's solutions surrounding this crisis are likely to set the tone for other school districts, regionally and nationally — just as the Chicago Teachers Union strike in 2012 empowered other educators around the state and nation to follow suit.
A 7 percent pay cut will not solve the long-term underfunding of Chicago's public schools, and it will continue to anger teachers who work diligently, with few resources, to support overcrowded classrooms filled with students who struggle academically, socio-emotionally and financially.
In my dozen years with the district, I have worked on the South Side at two neighborhood schools and one selective-enrollment school, all located in impoverished and violent neighborhoods. At each school I have received high ratings and became a major part of the schools' decision-making body. In the neighborhood schools, I overcame classroom management issues early on and pushed my students to read and write despite the struggles of their young lives. I have sat shoulder to shoulder, bleary-eyed by tears, with my colleagues at students' funerals. I have worked with amazing teachers who are committed to helping students climb out of poverty by empowering them through A teacher pay cut in disguise is not a solution - Chicago Tribune: