MARKILINSKI: Did Somebody Say DUCK(s)

There has been so much said about the impending State budget disaster scenario and one of the main culprits will supposedly be the teacher pension fiasco that is lurking idly by, ready to pounce on US poor taxpayers. 

I decided to do some of my own research.

Did you know that teacher pension legislation was changed in 2001 and 2002, not by the local school board, but by the PA State Legislature. Since the PA State Legislature does not just give away monies from the state coffers in a willy nilly fashion, I am supposing that someone from the state teachers union approached a Democratic Legislator and “licked his or her ear and promised them the moon”. Shortly after this first date, House Bills 26 of 2001 and House Bill 27 were passed into law, again not by your local school board, but by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. What this established is this:

Take the average salary of a teacher’s last 3 years in the classroom, and the same goes for any administrator, and you get what that employee’s yearly retirement income will be. Here is a true fact example:

A teacher from the Armstrong School District decides to retire from teaching this year after 30 years of service. They are at the top of the Masters scale on the ASD-AEA contract making $75,002 per year. That teacher will probably receive pretty close to 100% of their last year’s salary as a retirement benefit.

I will repeat, they will be making $75,002 as their retirement benefit.

If Dr. William Kerr, Superintendent of the Armstrong School District, were to retire today, his retirement benefit would be approximately in the neighborhood of $147,500 per year.

There are all kinds of solutions floating around Harrisburg right now and I have been keeping my eye on them. My last trip to Federal Court enlightened my life in that the 800 pound gorilla can be beaten. Perhaps the legislation of 2001-2002 can be challenged at that level for the benefit of all taxpayers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and not just a few.

By the way, Michael Ohare, the only ducks quacking right now number THREE, and their names are Huey, Dooey, and Louie!

Comments to: mmarkilins@aol.com

MARKILINSKI: Honesty in Education

Whenever I have been at a crossroads in life, I take time, head south, and reflect on what I want to accomplish. 

I decided to run for school board to help Dr. Jim Solak since he continually received verbal beatings from the not only his so called fellow school board members, but also the administration, the progressive liberals and the press, specifically the Leader Times, and Michael Ohare.

I am on the inside now and I do not like what I see and hear and what YOU do not.

If you look at the grades (AYP’s) at both Lenape Vo Tech and the Armstrong School District, you will find that we are NOT meeting State expectations. Lenape has failed for 7 years now and the Armstrong School District has failed as a whole for the past 2 at the 11th grade level.

The Administration at both schools needs to be honest with not only the taxpayers, but the parents and students as well.

We are not a good school district.

And I am trying to do something about it.

As you know there are several lawsuits flying around right now. One deals with gerrymandering of voting precincts (politics) and one deals with information from a CHARADE (politics again).

Some people say I am full of surprises. All I can say is stay tuned.

Several years ago I almost died from a very rare infection. Almost every doctor at West Penn told me that I should have died. I had Last Rites and I waited. But God did not call me home.

So there must have been some reason; A very big reason.

Walk with a good heart and you will run with success.

Honesty.

Just think about it.