ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Allentown school board recently voted to spend a quarter-million dollars to upgrade old lights and hoist systems for the high school auditorium during a budget crisis, and the teachers union is crying foul.

The vote, during the school board meeting Thursday night, comes amid massive budget problems in the district that are expected to cost 74 teachers, 12 clerical staff and 10 paraprofessionals their jobs to cover costs next year, WFMZ.com reports.

Debra Tretter, president of the Allentown Education Association, “argued during a public comment segment Thursday night that the money would have paid ‘four teachers’ salaries or 12 clerical positions,’” according to the news site.

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“She said the award continued a trend of wasteful expenditures by the cash-strapped school district that are coming at the expense of the unionized employees she represents,” WFMZ reports.

Tretter makes a very valid point – that education basics like a quality teacher in every classroom should come before nonessential items like expensive stage lights and auditorium equipment. She rightly points out that the district’s priorities are misplaced.

Of course, the union is focused on its members, and how the money could have been spent on them. The real focus should be on students, and what they need to learn.

The recent auditorium upgrades, while perhaps not the best use of tax dollars at the moment, are not, however, the root cause of the district’s budget problems. That honor belongs to the AEA and its unnecessarily expensive teacher’s contract with the district.

What Tretter didn’t explain in her public comments is that the AEA contract contains unlimited sick days for certain teachers, special retirement incentives, automatic annual raises, tuition reimbursement, low-cost health insurance, and other union perks that have also taken precedent over teaching and staff positions.

Was the stage lighting and other equipment a waste? Probably. But if Tretter and the AEA were truly concerned about preserving teaching and staff positions, union officials should look more closely at their own impact on the district’s budget, and work to cut out needless costs that could save the district far more than $250,000.