Buffalo Rising Online

3.5%-5% raises....no who in the private sector is getting that kind of raises and benefits.

See what extortion of the government by a public union will give you....

It should also be reminded of the public that Gov Paterson just wanted to cap property taxes at inflation + 20%. The teachers unions wouldnt even make that compromise on for the state taxpayer....and not only with-held political donations for the re-election of anyone voting for it but promised to finance the opponents of anyone who voted for it. The bill died.

Now, there is only one way to deal with public teachers unions and that is to close the school! Williams could have accomplished the settlement and kept the pay freeze if he just closed public schools.

I dont care about the city's urban students or turnover rate.

This is not a factory turning out widgets that they can use the same standard procedures for production.

How about this? If student safety and attitudes are the biggest reason holding students back then instead of giving teachers raises...hire a police/security office to monitor classrooms. Some kids need a cop at the front of the class who will arrest them if they open their mouth

If the product doesnt improve then teachers dont deserve the raise and thats the problem with the public schools and teachers unions. More money for nothing. Oh its not always the teachers and not always the students....many many schools are underfunded because all the money gets redirected to buracracy, staff, patronage, unions and their demands.

I dont care if its a charter, public, private, parochial school....the point is that performance hasnt really improved in public. Its time to break the teachers union!

Kashma, have you ever noticed how much people in this forum blame the teachers and the Board in Buffalo for their own "failures" with inner city school children? Especially the UNION? Rarely is your point of view expressed without the writer being immediately assaulted. Teaching in Buffalo is very different than in the suburbs. Like your experienced father, I wonder how we can have the same expectations from both students or teachers. In this forum, people rightfully cite that the schools in the city are a major reason that keeps middle class families from moving on to it. It's true! But, your father is correct. The job is a difficult one even under ideal (suburban?) conditions. Can anyone realistically expect the same results with unruly ghetto kids? Get real.

You made a realistic entry here. Just look at what the next respondent did to it. Blamed the unions and the teachers. "If the product doesn't improve..." Pure ignorance. Those teachers who will work with challenging kids earn every dime they get. And, BTW, kids are not products. Buffaloweiner must be a vestige of Buffalo's industrial past.

Being a future teacher as of this coming spring, I have worked in schools and its not necessarily the teachers that are the problems. In the city schools its a combination of teachers who are worn out from teaching in a hectic environment for so long, combined with students who may lack the essentials that many students in the suburbs grew up with. Respect, interest and knowledge that learning is essential, basic geographical knowledge. Theres a long list of things I have noticed in my short time in the school system. When you combine over taxed teachers who are forced to teach state mandated material and follow the strict guidelines many teacher turn over and give up. You have to look at both sides to understand the problems.