[Posted By Jake]

Last month, our local school board voted to approve a three-year contract for the district's teachers. This resident, and many others, thought the final numbers were far too generous for a down economy. It was disappointing that this latest round of bargaining failed to stop the vicious cycle of pay and benefit increases that the education lobby has long been foisting upon the loyal residents.

That outcome wasn't the only disappointment. Forget that attending this particular school board meeting was like accidentally stumbling into a Teamsters rally. At least the Teamsters are honest enough to skip the pretense that their demands for more money are "for the kids." But that evening you could hear such self-indulgent truisms reverberate throughout the school auditorium, ad nauseam.

And forget that the leader of the teacher's union, an Advanced Placement history teacher no less, thought it appropriate to regurgitate alleged Tea Party racism while she disparaged the public reaction to the contract negotiations. Isn't it good to know the Left's solidarity, in spite of the facts, is alive and well, and continues to discourage critical thinking by young, impressionable minds?

No, the real disappointment was provided by our school board. Not the three brave members who voted against approval while facing a hostile crowd, but the other six who voted yes, despite this unprecedented opportunity to make a stand for our community against this insatiable public tax monster.

Worst of all, two of the school board members who voted in favor of the contract, have one or more family members affected by their vote. Their adult children are employed by the school district and benefited by the increases in pay and benefits that were approved. One school board member actually abstained from voting on a prior agenda item because of that conflict.

No doubt these school board members consulted the district solicitor and the special counsel for this union contract. And no doubt all parties followed the letter, if not the spirit, of the law. Bottom line though, when I get my school tax bill and see the inevitable increase, I'm not going to be concerned whether these elected officials did the right thing by their "flexible" school board rules. I'm going to question whether the decision to ignore their obvious conflicts did the right thing by me, and by my fellow residents.