Three of the region’s newspapers are wrestling with the question of school budgets and teacher salaries.<\/p>\n
In this morning’s Plattsburgh Press-Republican<\/a>, Stephen Bartlett points out that Peru’s school district has roughly a $4 million budget shortfall next year.<\/p>\n The biggest chunk of that shortfall is caused by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget cuts, but a sizable portion comes in the form of negotiated cost-increases for school teachers.<\/p>\n The district also estimates a $358,000 increase in negotiated raises, $412,000 more in health-insurance premiums, an extra $211,000 in retirement-system contributions for support staff and another $372,000 for contributions to the teacher-retirement system…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This might be an obvious time to question whether salary increases are timely, or whether teachers should pick up more of their own insurance payments, as Governor Cuomo has suggested.<\/p>\n In a column, meanwhile, Glens Falls Post-Star<\/a> editor Ken Tingley argues that it’s time for every school district to have this wrenching, painful discussion.<\/p>\n The only place schools can save big chunks of money is with salary givebacks – or layoffs – and increases in employee contributions to health care.<\/p>\n That’s where the conversation should start.<\/p>\n Each and every school board should be asking its employees if they are willing to give back their raises or contribute more to their health insurance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Governor Cuomo, obviously, is lobbying teachers, their administrators, and their unions hard to convinced them to choose the salary cuts option whenever possible.\u00a0 Here’s a statement he released over the weekend, via the Albany Times-Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI commend the administrators and faculty of the West Genesee School District who have taken a voluntary salary freeze. These are the type of tough but smart decisions school districts across New York should be making. West Genesee clearly understands the economic pressures we are facing and other school districts should follow this example.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n