The Commonwealth Foundation’s Weekly Update–Ghost Teachers $$

Allentown School District is in dire financial condition. Hundreds of teachers have been laid off in recent years. Despite this, the union president manages to pull a full-time teacher’s salary and benefits from the district payroll without teaching one minute in the classroom.

For years, Allentown taxpayers have funded salary and benefits for a “ghost teacher” who is on district payroll but actually works full-time for the local teachers’ union. Since 2000, the cost to taxpayers has been more than $1.3 million.

Last week, taxpayers Scott Armstrong and Steven Ramos filed a lawsuit with help from the Fairness Center to end this absurd practice and require the union to repay the district.

As outrageous as this is, it’s not an isolated incident.

In Philadelphia, the teachers’ union can take up to 63 district employees to do full-time union work. In Pittsburgh, up to 16.

Public dollars should not be used to staff a private organization.

Please read and share about efforts to lay ghost teachers to rest, once and for all.  

Dawn

Dawn M. Toguchi
Director of Marketing