Members mobilize over union issues
In Calvert County …
CEA President Deborah Russ's testimony to the Calvert Board of Education
My name is Debbie Russ, I am a 30-year Calvert County teacher and current president of the Calvert Education Association. I am also a mother who placed my son in the care and custody of the CCPS Before and After Child Care Program . I am here today to speak in opposition to the Board of Education's “Request for Proposal” to contract out the program.
• Privatization does not necessarily save money.
Contractors frequently low-ball or underbid to win a contract, raising rates after they get established and agencies have contracted with them. School district officials, or other government agencies, rarely consider "hidden costs", including the cost of converting public services to private providers, and the taxpayer cost of monitoring and enforcing the agreement (which the federal government estimates adds at least 4% annually to the total cost). Contractors often pad their profits by selling their own equipment, supplies or additional services to the district or agency at a high markup.
• Private contractors are less accountable to the public and elected officials.
When in-house expertise and equipment are eliminated, the district or agency loses its capacity to provide certain public services and becomes dependent on the private contractor. Termination clauses are rarely invoked by district or government officials because of their financial and political cost. Private contractors are not required to open their records or decision-making processes to the public and are not covered by “open meetings” laws or freedom of information acts. Contracting out increases opportunities for corruption, allowing agencies to award contracts to political cronies or family members.
• Lax screening requirements for private contract employees can put our students at risk.
• Privatization hurts local and state economies.
Contracting out exports taxpayer dollars from employees and communities to big corporations, often headquartered out of state. Communities lose public-sector jobs with family-supporting wages and benefits, leading to increased social service costs. Local companies that provide supplies, services or equipment to government agencies lose out when a large contractor wins a bid and their contracts are canceled.
• There is an alternative: Improve delivery of public services through partnership with frontline workers.
School districts and government agencies have saved money and improved services by relying on the ideas, experience and commitment of experienced workers, actively involving them in restructuring.
Instead of suggesting or talking about contracting out this service, why has the Board of Education not entered into discussions with CAESS – the certified bargaining unit representative?
Contracting out is a bad idea for Calvert County. It is a quick fix—in this case the Request for Proposal requires the contractor to pay the school system a minimum “tribute” of $200,000/year—is the Board that desperate for funding?
If the County Commissioners can spend $3.5 million on a golf course—then surely they have the funding to maintain this successful and beneficial program for the students of Calvert County.
After all – aren't we here for the students?
