ya know scot, one of these days you and some of your colleagues are gonna realize that there IS NO CITY. there is no school dept. there is no BRA, there is NO anything when it comes to how decisions are reached in this city save for one person. that being the totally gutless, totally non-accountable, non-responsible person who has called himself mayor for close to TWO DECADES.your colleague vennochi hit it out of the park in her piece jan.19th, 2012, when she wrote that everyone knows who is making all the decisions on the schools and than hides behind everyone else cuz he ain't got the guts to stand up to any voting group especially one as powerful as the BTU, that numbers more than uno. scot, speaking about guts. when was the last time that you, canellos, mcgrory et al asked this blithering nitwit mayor a leading question. or the 1st time for that matter. ma

Another example of the harm that unions cause

Let's give the teachers their raise. And while were at it, how about another raise for the firemen and police? In fact, let's give all public sector employees a 10% raise and then we won't have to hassle with them for a year or two. These raises can be easily funded because the source of the funding is inexhaustible - the taxpayers

Good work calling the union out, the union leadership is letting down its members in this case. Teachers in Boston do a great job. They are also more than fairly paid.

tell me one industry that has expanded and innovated and had unions

I'm reminded of the fall of 2009 when the conservative-extreme GOP Congress howled that the individual health insurance mandate that they themselves once advocated was anathema to freedom. L - O - L!!

I grew up in Dorchester and am now a teacher In Dorchester since 2004. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Scotty boy here is painting a one sided picture. Where are the true voices of the community? Where the teachers voices? Business voices and politicians are the only ones soapboxed here. Well I'm a teacher and I'm getting on my soap box. Firstly, lets get this day extension out of the way. Most schools offer SES - supplementary educational services - to families who want it. There are also many after school programs and sports leagues. These are staffed by teachers, like myself. I even work Saturdays for MCAS prep, and summers for summer school. And, yes, I get paid for it and I'm not rich! The BPS school day is 6.5 hours long. The national average for elementary is 6.7 (which I teach). This exaggerated myth that Boston teachers work a minuscule work day compared to other districts is just wrong. I work after school. I get paid for it. I will work 7 hours or eight hours a day. I should be paid for it. I do not receive overtime for all the work I bring home, phone calls I make, paperwork I fill out. And although Boston is a tad under the average, we spend more time actually in front of the kids teaching than districts with a slightly longer day. Oh, and did I mention that Boston is the number one urban school district in the country. Those who look down at us are classist! We do not need to be fixed with charters, we need to improve through teacher and community voice, not the voices of privateers and profiteers eager to cash in on the industry. My voice is telling you all to fix the communities. Health disparities are responsible for income achievement gaps - not teachers or their unions as this article would have you believe. The business community is so concerned because they do not want to pay their fair share of taxes, and neither do universities, hospitals, and the nonprofits that are in cahoots with the likes of Sam Tyler and the BMRB. "Can the changes Boston families want and need occur within the confines of a negotiated agreement?" Scotty, you watched the propaganda film Waiting for Superman - complete with a fake lottery scene (yes actors) far too many times. You, and the people you sight in your article, do not have any public school teaching experience (aside from Connolly - minimally). I doubt you send your kids to Boston Public Schools. But you certainly know what's best! Charters are no better institutes of learning than traditional public schools. Public schools do not turn away children. Charters do not teach the same percentage of special needs, ELL, or socio/emotional troubled students. Why? If kids are a problem they are expelled or counseled out. Most of the families that pick charters do so because they are fed lies and stock photos from the business backed charter machine. Q: Why are charters schools are better than traditional public schools? A:Because they are charter and charter means better, while regular

(con't) regular means bad and union. PS: 7% work day increase and a 1.25 COLA = working for free. I'll gladly work for free as long as Scotti and a few other agree to my terms. At 2.5 hours a week this is what I expect. Firstly my dogs need a bath, haircut and walk, Marty Walz can handle that. Secondly, my apartment needs painting. Connolly can start on the dining room - shouldn't take more than 2.5 hours - and he can buy the paint and brushes - like I buy many of my supplies! The following weeks he can do the rest of the apartment, then he can move onto my parent's place. With two dogs my place needs to be cleaned alot. I figure the BMRB could handle that for free @ 2.5 hours per week. Only I fear that they would just send their maids over to do that peasant work. And Scotti, you can spend 2.5 hours a week writing apology letters to the teachers, parents, and communities of Boston. In your letters you can explain what Boston families want and need should be explained by Boston families - not by charter school lottery stats, wealthy ceos, and self serving politicians. side note: possible corruption:Funny how Walz worked for Harcourt, then Bps purchased millions in Harcourt materials and millions in training staff, only to have materials replaced 2 yrs later with reading street.

if adding 2.5 hrs per week is a "dolop", and as Connolly says Boston is "well below nat'l average" your whole article is misinformed. My research indicates that the average elementary day is 6.7 hrs. How is 1/5 of an hour (12 minutes a day to those who forgot fractions) well below - and 1/2 and hour a dolop? Reminder: Boston is a considered the best urban public school system in the country - must be the union's fault! PS: Boston teachers spend far more time in front of the kids than national average - we already work harder - and the data proves it!

How can a 10% raise cost $116 million and a 5% raise cost cost $33 million? You do not seem to have your facts correct here.

Once again, the offer is 1% ($800) but you have an extra 2 weeks of work (90 hours).. not much of a raise. Wouldn't even cover the daycare costs for my kids.

Scot LeHigh knows what Boston families want. He has his facts straight too. Wait...1/2 an hour a day is a "dollop" of extra teaching, and elementary schools , according to Connolly, are "well below the national average". The national average is 6.7 hours. Do the math. .2 of an hour, or 1/5. 1/5 of 60 is 12 minutes! That's well below in one breath, and in the next nearly 3 times that is miniscule. 90 hours a year of my time is not nothing. How is 10 % raise 116 million, and a 5 percent raise 32 million? Sorry Scot, my 4th and 5th graders at my successful traditional school in Dorchester, right next to the projects, can figure these inaccuracies. Are you really smarter than a 5th grader? Where in the article did he cite that Boston is the #1 performing urban school district in the country? No, we get paid too much, work too little right? I'm still waiting for you, Scoti, to give me a dollop of writing work - 2.5 hours per week - for free. You can teach my kids in Dot that 1/2 hour everyday for nothing, and make sure you come prepared. If you haven't done your lesson planning they will eat you alive. And where are the community, family, and teachers voices. All I read were soundbytes from elf serving politicians and greedy businessmen. Corporate anti-union propaganda is all I read.

Lifting the cap on charters means what? Boston teachers will quit and work longer hours for less pay at a charter? Hmmm....no...Kids will flock to the charter schools - Maybe, at first. Here's the rub. The new charter schools will be hiring people who are currently not teaching. Charter schools can hire anyone to teach you know. You don't need a teaching licence to teach at a charter. I'll bet most folks don't realize that. You can hire anyone off the street. I'm not saying the charter schools don't have standards, just that the standards are set by the charter schools themselves. The emphasis is on a corporate model. Students are a product and teachers are tools to create the product. Simple as that.

"The whole squabble over half an hour is almost beside the point at this late date, particularly when you have charter schools that offer two or three times that in extra instruction,'' says Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation. New MCAS MATH Question: On the 2010, IRS 990's Paul Grogan of the Boston Foundation (BF) made $572,289! To save everyone some time $572,289 / 52 = $11,005.55 per week. If Paul works 40 hours he earns $275.13 an hour, if Paul works 35 hours he earns 314.44 an hour! How much does Paul Grogan earn for 30 minutes, if he works 40 hours a week? How much does Paul Grogan earn for 30 minutes, if he works 35 hours a week? Boardroom Bozo's, Paul Grogan and Sam Tyler represent those big business and non-profits (not to be confused with charity) who do not pay their 25% for municipal services but own 50% of the real-estate in Boston, they are not part of the BPS/BTU negotiations.