In the latest tiff between public-employee unions and cash-strapped governments, more than 350,000 Chicago children were shut out of classrooms for a second day Tuesday by striking teachers pursuing goals that are out of step with reality.
The teachers, who make an average $76,000 a year, are spurning an offer that includes a 16% pay increase over the next four years. In times of low inflation and 8.1% unemployment, you’d think that would be enough to get a deal done.
But that’s just for starters. The teachers’ main beef is about accountability. They don’t want it, at least not the measurable kind. The school district does, and so the two are locked in a battle that’s being repeated across the country. Even if the strike is settled by the time you read this, the outcome will help shape the quality of education across the USA.