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.
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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.