"Heck...every school board employee pays union dues to the teachers union don't they, whether they're a teacher or not, janitor's, kitchen workers, you name it...engineers at facility planning units are part of it too I believe. If teachers get raises then so do the folks at the main facility, it works the other way around to, no raise for teachers = no raise for the folks in engineering."

This is not true.....a teachers union is just that....for teachers. Administrators, school board members, and maintnance/engineers/utility workers are not included. Also, there is a strict rule on when you can retire with full benefits. Anytime you retire early you lose a big portion of it. A teacher can "buy out" some years of service in some corporations, but it is very costly and the corporation actually comes out ahead.....why you ask....because they go hire a person right out of college and can pay them the lowest salary on the scale. Teachers Unions actually have very little power, compared to private sector unions. Teachers (tenured or not) can be fired with just cause. Lack of performance, incompetence, or insubordination are all causes for dismissal....and it does happen.

Chubminnow.....I call it as I see it. You were saying things that led me to infer you thought you knew what you were talking about....and you were off base. Its not personal, I'll try to be more contructive in my criticism next time.