From Harford County government:
Harford County Executive David R. Craig issued the following statement regarding the tentative agreement between the Harford County Education Association (HCEA) and the Board of Education of Harford County regarding the County Executive’s one-time pay bonus for teachers:
“I am pleased that the leadership of the Harford County Education Association and the Board of Education of Harford County has come to a tentative agreement regarding the proposed one-time pay bonus to school teachers which I proposed last year. However, it is regrettable that an agreement could not be reached between these parties last month to allow teachers to receive the first half of the proposed pay bonus for the holidays.
As I stated when I first announced the legislation to the County Council for this one-time pay bonus, this was not a pay raise for teachers, county employees, personnel of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Harford County Library employees or others who qualified for this pay bonus. This is one-time money which the Administration and County Council had agreed to support for our dedicated employees. Without question I believe Harford County Public School teachers are most deserving of this one-time bonus as well.
I look forward to seeing the details of the agreement once it has been approved by the Board of Education, and in working with the County Council to ensure that the bonus can be distributed in the manner in which it was originally intended.”
It’s much easier to reach an agreement when you actually are permitted to have a discussion.
There was a discussion and the HCEA wanted a one way conversation to the county exec. Give us the money and we want more. Randy was so out of touch with his members that he thought he was the king maker and could do what he wanted. The teachers should have gotten this bonus back when it was introduced. Makes me wonder how the union leadership can keep going when they messed this up. The BOE acted with honor and the HCEA (leadership) acted with greed!
Then why did the BOE promise teachers 2 steps and 3% this year knowing they could not deliver?
some things you don’t discuss….. Try saying thank you and move on.
A belated Merry Christmas to one and all!
County Executive Craig believes the teachers should get a bonus? Of course he does, he is the guy who had the ide to begin with. So that’s not news. The teachers believe they should get a bonus. Heck, we all knew that for at least 3 months now. So who has been holding it up?
Well, that would be HCEA leadership who are now limping around because they shot themselves in the foot. Unfortunately the teachers were collateral damage.
Thanks Friend of Teach (or Dr. Tomback) for your insight. We all know how the BOE acts honorably-just ask the State Labor Board…which is why they have refused to try and sort out anything except to take the board to court, eventhough it’s binding arbitration…
HCEA demanded that the BoE and County Exec follow existing law. Nothing more, Nothing less. We will not allow anyone to erode our collective bargaining rights or Maintenance of Effort. We followed the law and will continue to insist that the rule of law is upheld.
Ryan,
Well, actually, you screwed over your membership and cost them a well-deserved bonus being paid TIMELY. The rule of law has nothing to do with it. The teachers didn’t get their bonus timely – hopefully they, might get it or some of it eventually – and it is the fault of you and Cerveny and HCEA leadership. Competent leadership would have upheld the rule of law AND gotten the bonus paid in December. You are working against the best interests of those who are paying dues to the HCEA and reflecting poorly on all teachers. In addition to that you are embarrasing yourself and all of collective bargaining by your lack of leadership and competence.
You obviously understand little of the situation either in particular or generally within the county. I have not screwed anyone over.
@Ryan Burbrey
Collective Collusion er I meant to say Bargaining is the sham that steals from the taxpayer and perpetuates the mediocrity of the public education system.
You are an emotional selfish liberal/social1st little man. And the next time I see you I will tell you to your face.
If you truly know me you know that I am not in the least selfish, except the pleasure that I derive from the successes I have found helping others.
Ryan Burbrey you are no Mother Teresa, you are a hypocrite.
I don’t remember Ryan ever claiming to be Mother Teresa.
I am neither hypocrite nor Mother Theresa. I am a teacher and activist, who takes great pride in his work and advocacy.
@Ryan
If this collective bargaining between parties without the purse is the future for the teachers, it will bankrupt the citizens of Harford County. The only good thing to come of it will be the layoff of Ryan and the other tax happy liberals. Just picture it Ryan with his HCEA t-shirt at the corner of East Bel Air and Route 40 and a Cardboard sign “I will teach for Food”.
@Free Market
A monkey playing an organ and Ryan Burbrey on a leash holding a tin cup!
Fortunately, for me, my students and my family that will never happen. Is it a free market when a county government sells bonds incurring more debt to pay contractors but doesn’t pay its employees their agreed upon wages?
Dagger Readers
Please see Ryan Burbey’s facebook postings. Ryan has contempt for all things not promoting big government union spending. Ryan’s postings are outright hateful towards anyone remotely fiscally conservative. And this guy is teaching our children…
I for one enjoy Ryan Brubrey’s Lenin/Marx perspectives. It is important for teachers to indoctrinate our children in schools to help create bigger and more government control. And of course it is critical for teachers to be paid more for the service to the proletariat in the war against capitalism and for social justice.
Ryan; A short quiz:
Who said “An unjust law is no law at all”?
The point is just the fact that some one in some ivory tower wrote a law and then some half whit in a black bath robe said it’s OK, the law does not exist. Your collective bargaining and binding arbitration are actually not law. They are an agreement between two parties, neither of whom has to finance the agreement. Put me on a jury and ask me to uphold your little bit of crap and the whole house of cards tumbles. For a teacher you are really inexperienced and of very narrow focus.
binding arbitration is laid out in the Fairnessin Negotiations Act sponsored by Glassman!!!!!
I wanted to see that Glassman had sponsored it, but he didn’t. http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/sb0590.htm
MLK Jr. in his letter from the Birmingham jail.
Give it another try Ryan. Hint MLK was not even a glimmer when it was written.
Ryan you brilliant social1st wunderkind…the answer is St Augustine.
My appologies…after rea-reading MLK’s Letter From the Birmingham Jail, he references St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. However, I think all three were of the same mind.
“One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”
Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an “I it” relationship for an “I thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man’s tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.”
Actually, they are law. There is a specific process for school funding and authority over the funds. Likewise, there is a specific process for collective bargaining. Both are designed to prevent our education system from being politicized. However, as of late it appears that this is not possible. I as previously noted am a Democrat and a liberal. However, my union is apolitical. Likewise, our school board and school system should remain apolitical. Our schools and the well being of both teachers and students should not be the subject of political debate nor subjected political machinations. That is exactly what is happening now. It is really quite sad.
How can you possibly say that HCEA is “apolitical” when the majority of dues paid by teachers to HCEA go up to the state and national level organizations which in turn send that money to the political campaigns of democrats?
Our dues are not spent on political campaigns. We have PAC fund. Our dues are spent to defend the rights of teachers and students, as well as, to further the cause of equal education for all.
How does the PAC fund get funded? The magical money tree?
No, Union members give to PAC via separate payroll deductions, buying raffle tickets and other fund raisers. Union dues don’t go to PAC.
I also find it laughable that the “bonus” being paid to teachers that HCEA has been “fighting” for isn’t even enough to cover yearly dues to the HCEA for a teacher in the district.
Actually, after taxes, we should get about $850. Association dues are $535 for the year.
Only the first payment has been negotiated and we haven’t even seen that one yet, which will be about $390. I wouldn’t bank on the second payment at all.
If you are an HCEA member, you will be voting this week in acceptance in the whole $1250. Hope to see you at the February 13 Board of Ed meeting.
Please explain your contention that the school board has succumb to political influence. While a little independent research reveal the political affiliations of current school board members I have not seen anything that leads me to believe any are putting politics above the interests of students.
I was referring to the fact that Mr.Craig continually browbeats the school board like his personal whipping boy publicly. I was referring to the fact that despite numerous new schools opening, funding has remained static.
@Ryan
You are Liberal and a Democrat it is obvious by your lack of living in reality! You want the tax payers to front money that you the HCEA and School Board agree upon without having the County Government in the process. The only think you want them to do is blindly fund it. You don’t have a blank check and that what you want with collective bargaining.
Know to the children that you fool’s like you indoctrinate with your liberal values. It is a shame that all day they hear your blabber and skewed views. We saw it in Wisconsin when teacher had their student march to their defense. Not high school kids but third graders! Ryan you are a Democrat, which is what Socialist called themselves in the United States. We tax payers are tired of you using our kids as your pawn for a pay raise at our expense. I for one am tired at putting money in your tin cup.
I am very fiscally conservative and often disagree with Ryan, but some of your views and words are disturbing to me on many different levels. You can support fiscally conservative views without hurting the fiscal conservative cause in the process.
Ryan Burbrey is governmentopolist. He wishes to make the people beholden and subservient to government.
Burbrey and people like him including our governor and president are dangerous in their full-on attack of capitalism and meritocracy.
We need more government so we can put more teachers, police and bureaucrats to work. Government is the ultimate job creator. Put your faith in government, work for government and live off government.
We can and will tax the private sector into submission, we are the government after all.
Here’s to more government and less capitalism. Join government and leave capitalism today!
Stillwell? Paul? BS Meter? Really? The Truth? Is that you or one of you? I lost my aka/alias cheat sheet. Have a good one.
I wholeheartedly agree!
Thank you for your reason.
Your welcome Ryan…it was my pleasure.
I really hope Delegate Glass considers a run for County Executive at some point. We could use his skills in Bel Air – or Washington maybe!
I am legion.
I got that idea somehow.