Last year, one of my Metcalfe Memos was titled "Pennsylvania Needs to Call Teachers' Unions 'Out' on Strikes."
 
Public school teacher strikes have a negative impact on all Pennsylvanians. The strike which is occurring in the Seneca Valley School District is disrupting the lives of thousands of families. 
 
At a recent event, my wife and I spoke with a man whose wife is a public school teacher in a district close to Seneca Valley. He shared with us that the teachers union in his wife's district was waiting to see what would happen in Seneca before they made a decision to strike. The teachers union will use their strike in Seneca to strike fear into school districts across the state. 
 
Thousands of children in Seneca have been denied the educational services that we, as taxpayers, have already paid up-front for in our school property taxes. Family budgets are drained by the unexpected costs that are a direct result of the schedule disruptions forced upon families by striking teachers. Quality family time normally enjoyed during regularly scheduled holidays and vacation time is lost as public school teachers march on the picket line. 
 
As if all of these economic and quality of life losses at the hands of the teachers union are not enough, the teachers ultimate objective is to take even more from those they were hired to serve. 
 
The majority of a school district's budget is for salaries and benefits. The teacher's union demands of across the board salary increases, whether a teacher's performance merits it or not, is well above the rate of inflation year after year after year, and is the primary cause of escalating school property taxes. 
 
The teacher's union will use Seneca Valley as an example of what they are willing to do to a community if their demands are not fulfilled. 
 
Unlike other union members that choose to strike, the public school teachers who strike have no economic loss because they are still paid for the 180 days of instruction that the school district is required to provide.  
 
Pennsylvania is the teacher strike capitol of the nation. We claim the unfortunate distinction of having more teacher strikes than all of the states who allow strikes added together. 
 
Public school districts were one of the government entities created by the Pennsylvania Legislature to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to "provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education." Our system of public education is neither thorough nor efficient when we allow striking public school teachers to disrupt the educational process.
 
Public school teachers are employees of a local government entity known as a public school district. Public employees, whether they are elected to constitutional offices such as the governor, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court or the Pennsylvania Legislature, or whether they are appointed, like the secretary of education or other members of the governor's cabinet, or whether they are hired like public school superintendents or public school teachers, are all supposed to serve the public.
 
This is why we use the term "public servants." 

At what point in our history did public employees lose sight of the true meaning of being a public servant? 

The Pennsylvania Legislature should enact the Strike Free Education Pact legislation that I have introduced with my colleagues to protect Pennsylvania children, families and taxpayers.
 
It is time to send a strong and clear message that public school teachers are still public servants.
 
It is time to end the teacher's union ability to hold Pennsylvania families hostage to their demands.
 
It is time to end teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.

####