By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

REDFORD, Mich. – Here are a few hard, cold facts that the Michigan Education Association (the state’s largest teachers union) is choosing to ignore.

The Redford school district, just west of Detroit, is facing a $790,000 budget deficit, due to declining enrollment and cuts in state aid. That mounting deficit could invite a takeover by a state-appointed emergency financial manager, which has occurred in three other districts across the state.

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That information comes from the World Socialist Web Site, a favorite of union officials everywhere.

Yet the MEA continues to oppose a plan to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by privatizing bus driving, custodial and maintenance services in the Redford district. The move would result in job losses for 46 union employees, according to the website.

The MEA’s position is typically self-serving. Privatization involves the replacement of union employees with non-union workers, and it’s been spreading like wildfire throughout the state. The more union workers that lose their jobs, the less revenue the union collects through dues.

The unions always do their best to scare local residents about privatization plans. They say parents wouldn’t be able to trust the strangers hired to work in the schools. They say the private companies contracted to do the work won’t perform as well as longtime loyal union employees.

That’s hogwash. If anything, private companies will demand top performance from their employees, because they operate under contracts with expiration dates. They will eventually want to renew those contracts, and the only way to guarantee that is excellent service.

The companies can also be expected to carefully screen the people they send into schools, and quickly fire anybody who proves to be a problem.  It’s much easier to get rid of a bad non-union employee than it is to fire a union employee.

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Again, the companies want to keep the school’s business, and that would be a hard sell if they send a bunch of shady characters to mix with students.

The bottom line is that public schools exist for students, not the people who staff them. Money is tight at the moment, and school boards have a responsibility to invest as many scarce dollars as possible into classrooms. If that means finding a less expensive way to provide student transportation or clean and maintain buildings, so be it.

We’ve seen cases where school boards have threatened to eliminate cooks or custodians, but their unions have saved their jobs by offering significant concessions in salary and benefits. Perhaps the MEA should consider that tactic in Redford.

If that doesn’t occur, the school board has every legal and moral right to hire outside firms to perform the work at a more affordable rate. It’s far better to outsource maintenance work than lay off teachers and cancel student programs.