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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1981)
Page 10A THE BATTALION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1981 Features I I"* Strikes, layoffs, fiscal^ problems to keep so teachers out of school Is pi; * $ m Hunchbacks Staff photo by Brian Tate When it comes time for a countermarch, the bass drummers find the turning tedious. Because of the close alignment of the columns, the only place for the bass drums to go is down. The Aggie Band has begun practicing daily for their first public appearance this season which will be at the Louisiana Tech-Texas A&M football game on Sept. 26 at Kyle Field. The band is 350 members strong this year and will march 303 men when it takes the field. By PATRICIA McCORMACK United Press International Forty-four thousand teachers will not be going back to school this new school year. They are, said the American Federation of Teachers, “victims of layoffs due to a decline in enroll ment and an upsurge in fiscal problems.” Other teachers — no one knows how many — will postpone the time they go back to school, engaging in strikes. And still others will go back to school and strike later if an agree able contract isn’t worked out. Terry Herndon, executive di rector of the nation’s largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association, said he feels the number of strikes will be about normal. That comes out to between 150 and 200 strikes a year, Herndon said. A random survey by the AFT shows that school systems in Mas sachusetts will be the hardest hit by teacher layoffs. An estimated 7,500 teachers in Massachusetts are marked for pink slips. In Bos ton, 1,000 teaching jobs will be terminated. The AFT said other states re porting major layoffs include: Illinois, 2,700 layoffs; Indiana, 1,000; Louisiana, 2,500; Michi- One of the problems with school financing these days — a big factor putting the squeeze on school systems, said Herndon — is that only 20 percent of the voting population has children in school. gan, 2,000; Pennsylvania, 4,000; Wisconsin, 2,500; New York, 1,100; Ohio, 3,000. who !§r; f . ■is' Ml % > 1 ‘/ picked Schlitz and not my Bud. n ©1981, Jos Schlilz Brewing Company. Milwaukee. Wl g eV But, it’s not all bad news. Ffefij 1 ida, Georgia and Texas all are® 5 need of teachers. iP" On pending strike actions, tkj AFT reported: ;.» e ^ —In Boston, teachers may ialH e a strike vote on Labor Day :Br decide whether to report forwc* later that week when sckB, 5 3 opens. At issue, among otlie«. ra things, are the layoffs, inclutlf notices to 750 tenured teaclic« n 1 Many have 10 to 15 years expeiB^f ence. , ® n —The Phildelphia Federatii of Teachers is threatening to strikj over layoffs. As in Boston, ladclphia teachers are in the rail*.^ die of a pact that stipulates do* e j f layoffs. But, the school boardbB ordered 3,700 dismissalsM„, Teachers also are upset over school board not granting iRL p guaranteed 10 percent raise m*' a in last year’s contract negotiationsM>'’ s) I Icrndon said it seemseontra.::E\ x) ] arc being signed more quicklyjlJLj ( . tl year, with raises of from 8 percHi* te( j to 11 percent. I”. But, he estimates there maykRT ^ fewer strikes among NEAaffiliated this year. d' n The AIT record shows lid a( strikes staged last school year\vi™ anc the major ones in Philadelphia* pj Newark, Rochester, East At*] 0 | Louis, Illinois and Woonsock* () p B. I. * s 4( In several cities, local affiliated pr of the AFT have headed offstrik* V011 by reaching unprecedented sel* U( jj tlements. They include OklahoffiR, a( City and Jefferson Parish. L L] en | The Oklahoma City settlemriBr 0 f included a pay raise of behvm* • | $1,650 and $3,1(K) for regtilaM na ] teachers and increases of betwra*;„ $1,650 and $5,698 for extende contract teachers such reque The board also has agreed ii one-year contract to increase i tirement and other insurancebel Terry Herndon, emuj five director of the nal U| tion 5 largest teacher union, the NationalEi emsc \. cation Association, saiiNy he feels the number i)i l K r | ) ( strikes will be a/)otifnorP En mal. That comes ouf mus Since between 150 and strikes a year, Her/idoil™^ said. 1 teai I trad nefits, provide for guarantee:®^ res planning time, limit class inter*- ruptions and establish improveiBttinj student disciplinary policies. Pded Under the previous contra! p s > s h Oklahoma City’s first-yea jrdin teachers earned an average aumr f a s b salary of $14,200. Under the ne 1 edition contract, they will earn $16,088 Red. The two-year contract ratified He 1 early in August by 2,000 tack re dd in Jefferson Parish calls for salary fume increases as high as 13 percent, |y to It also gives teachers more ii* wus put in school affairs, the AFTsaid P'hen Under the previous eontradf^nya first-year teachers earned an aver l&n t age annual salary of $13,392. TkPierh new pact will give them $14,250 * so One of the problems wit t school financing these clays-i P^m hig factor putting the squeeze o' Pmu school systems, said Herndon- is that only 20 percent of the.# ing population has children i« school. As a result, property tax k creases are voted down more fre quently. Property taxes, tradition ally, have been the major sourceoli money for local schools. “Increasingly, schoolsareg to be dependent on state and fed-1 eral revenue sources,” HerndonJ said. Planting conditions now ideal United Press International MARYSVILLE, Ohio -j Homeowners out to improve their' lawns will find nature on theirskle this time of year, say agronomists. Conditions needed for grass I seed to sprout and grow are close] to ideal around Labor Day, when the heat of summer begins to wane and cooler nights signal the tumof| the seasons. Even though nights are cool, the ground will remain warm many weeks, providing the seed = with the right temperature for! germination. Grass seed sown now, say agronomists for O.M Scott and Sons, wall germinate readily and, in several weeks, will | add bright blades of green to your outdoor carpet.