There were two school tragedies in the Delaware Valley this
week. Young students in Philadelphia and Mount Laurel died while at school in
two separate incidents. Both deaths appear to be due to natural causes.
Like most schools, the one that was attended by the first
grader in Philadelphia was suffering from budget cuts. They had cut back on the
services of a school nurse by making that a part-time position. The nurse was
not on duty when the youngster in the South Philadelphia school stopped
breathing.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Pennsylvania Governor Tom
Corbett berated the unions for pointing out this fact. He used the occasion to
bash the union for “politicizing” a tragedy. Corbett has his priorities wrong.
Unions exist for more than assurance of fair wages. Unions promote safe working
conditions and the overall welfare of people in the work environment. It was
Corbett who politicized this event.
It seems like we have tons of money to put policemen in
schools to keep the children safe from guns. But there’s no money to have
full-time nurses to help with children’s health and be there for emergencies? Mr.
Corbett is not the only one to have his priorities out of order.
Corbett is right to call out the tone-deaf teachers union on this. Big city teacher unions are about nothing but power for their members at the expense of everyone else.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should poll Philadelphians on whether they worry more about their kids having a heart attack in school vs being shot or stabbed. I would be more than happy to base staffing decisions on the results.