IRL Attacks Tallinn for Redirecting Teacher Salary Funds
Although the City of Tallinn has made an effort to align itself with the teachers' strike, even supplying a venue and musical entertainment for a rally on Thursday, political opponents claim the agenda of teachers, who are demanding a 20 percent pay rise, has not been a priority for Tallinn's ruling party.
The IRL faction of Tallinn City Council attacked the city for redirecting 3.6 million euros - or 11 percent - of the taxpayer money allocated by the national government for teacher salaries in 2010. In that year, a total of 35 million euros was earmarked for teacher salaries in Tallinn.
“The city has defended its actions by referring to a legal loophole by which the municipal government is not obligated to spend all of the national funds allocated for teacher salaries in their entirety,” Madis Kübar, an IRL councilman, said in a press release.
The IRL representative also blamed the less than optimum teacher-student ratio in Tallinn's publicly funded schools. In Tallinn, the average number of students in a class is 26, compared to 31.5 in Tartu, according to Kübar. With more students in classes and fewer teachers, salaries could also be bumped up, he said.
"IRL respects the municipality's autonomy in distributing educational spending, but in that case the city government should admit that teacher salaries are not the priority. If the national government gives the city earmarked funds, then the city has the moral responsibility to use them for the assigned purpose. If the local government sneaks by this obligation, stricter laws must be adopted at the national level," said Kübar.