As the battle for Loudoun County rages on, two days ago (January 25, 2022) I sent the following letter to Chairman Jeff Morse and the rest of the Loudoun County Public Schools board.
Dear Jeff and board,
I signed up to speak today but now may not make it due to another commitment, so I send my comments ahead here.
Please take note of our strong opposition to collective bargaining vis-a-vis LCPS. Collective bargaining is neither appropriate nor necessary in any public sector work setting. Furthermore, it uses the taxpayers’ own dollars against us.
Not necessary: Government jobs, being not subject to market forces, aren’t constrained in the same ways as those jobs connected to private businesses. If a government institution does not make budget, they do not go out of business, they raise taxes. I simplify, but that is the general situation. Government jobs tend to have the best benefits, higher than market-rate pay, and accommodating work environments. Also, it is typically difficult (if not impossible) to be fired from most government positions. In other words, there is no need for the presence of a self-serving union to advocate for the interests of government employees.
Not appropriate: Unions are big private businesses, consumed with a single primary purpose: growing their own bottom line. Public sector unions, in particular, are parasites that leech resources and enrich themselves from the taxpayers’ pockets. Being unnecessary (see above), public sector unions are simply a drain on resources. They greedily want a place at the feeding-trough (of course) but must not be permitted to get their talons into us, the taxpayers of Loudoun County. Furthermore, unions are notoriously partisan (Democrat) and regularly advocate against the best interests and safety of children, and in favor of programs that will increase bureaucracy and (of course) union income. Loudoun County taxpayers comprise the entire political spectrum, and it is therefore completely inappropriate to forcibly funnel enormous quantities of taxpayer dollars into a big business (i.e. a union) that regularly weaponizes those same tax dollars against half of the taxpayers by undermining their political wishes or concerns. This is a major reason I have repeatedly insisted that public sector unions are a fraud against the taxpayers.
Finally, on this point, collective bargaining in public schools harms student outcomes in terms of test scores and achievement during school years, and also in terms of education and career outcomes later in life. This point was made eloquently by a speaker at the last LCPS public comment session. So, public school unions hurt kids while also hurting parents and other taxpayers.
It should be fairly clear from all this that collective bargaining for LCPS is not only unnecessary and inappropriate, but also that it is a lose-lose proposition for LCPS and its stakeholders. By “stakeholders,” I mean primarily the parents and taxpayers of Loudoun County–and when any of you use that term, that is what should be in your mind as well. The only people who will win with collective bargaining are the unions and their corrupt partners on the political left. Several of you have done great damage to Loudoun County Public Schools recently. Please do not now take LCPS in the direction of collective bargaining, and please do not adopt any budget that earmarks funds for collective bargaining.
Also, a note on masks in school: We oppose mask mandates on LCPS property. If students or teachers choose to wear a medical mask in school or on LCPS property that should be allowed during the remainder of this year, but neither should anyone be forced to do so. At this point, everyone who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 has had ample opportunity. We are dealing with a virus whose negative health outcomes are heavily skewed toward the elderly (not kids), cases are in decline both in number and severity, and while there may be reason for some people to choose to wear a mask (e.g. an elderly grandparent living at home), there is no good medical reason for everyone to be made to do so in schools or most other public settings.
Last, a note on explicit and inappropriate books placed in schools. Books graphically or with explicit language depicting sexual acts should not be in school libraries. School libraries must be curated for content. In fact, they are curated–always–and this is why these things are not matters of free speech. Schools are places where children should be protected and where they can grow in healthy directions, not exposed to predators. If you want to have some books emphasizing “diversity,” please limit the presence of such books to those that do not harm children’s minds with age-inappropriate content.
Thank you,
Daniel Brubaker, PhD
I requested, but as of today did not receive, a response.