The Delaware County Daily Times (Pa.) published this letter by Lisa Esler in response to an article regarding the rejection of a resolution by the Penn Delco School Board to ask the state legislature to end the mandate requiring school districts to pay a “prevailing wage” for public works of greater than $25,000. This means that to bid on these jobs contractors must pay a wage that “prevails” in each reason. This “prevailing wage” is determined by the state’s Department of Labor and Industry.
One should also note that contractors are also required by federal law to pay “prevailing wage” on all projects which receive in excess of $2,000 of federal funding.
It is well understood that this significantly inflates the cost of public works and the burden on the taxpayer.
And we wonder why our lives are getting harder while the lives of the politically connected are getting easier.
Lisa is a member of the Penn Delco School Board and the Delaware County Patriots.
Here is her letter:
This is in response to the article concerning the prevailing wage resolution which was voted down 6-2 by the Penn Delco School Board.
Prevailing wage inflates the cost of school construction projects costing the taxpayers from 10 to 30 percent for these projects. This money would be better used to help in the education of our children. The school board’s responsibility is to represent the children and the taxpayer, not to pay inflated prices for construction or represent any group of constituents directly.
Many of these same construction companies would do the work for less but are bound by this law (unfunded mandate) which was created by bureaucrats in Harrisburg who continue to feed off of union contributions for their elections. Other school boards in the state have passed the same or similar resolutions, including two in Chester County with a 9-0 vote.
The Pennsylvania School Board Association, which most school boards are members of, including Penn Delco, has said that prevailing wage is the number one unfunded mandate from Harrisburg and provided a similar resolution encouraging school districts to pass.
Legislation from Harrisburg ties the hands of school boards from making financial decisions that would benefit those they represent and legislators continue to put their own personal gain above their constituents. This is seen not only with the prevailing wage law but their unwillingness to end teacher strikes in Pennsylvania as well as deal with the pension crisis which they were well aware of years ago and were not willing to deal with until it hit “crisis status.”
The question remains, who does Harrisburg really represent if common-sense legislation is ignored? And what responsibly does the school board have in shedding light on important legislation that benefits both children and taxpayers?
Lisa Esler
Aston
Okay, so I want to get some work done on my house…say, I want to paint the inside. Do I shop around and get the best price or do I just pay someone a “prevailing” wage. The answer is obvious. Philadelphia as an example has some good qualities but one of them is NOT being business friendly, kissing the unions’ proverbial ASS and it’s been going on for 30 or more years!
You have it right John. Let’s back tea Party candidates and go for term limits. Let us start treating our politicians as servants instead of royality.