Are Public Schools Run For Unions, Or Students?

I think we need to answer a fundamental question here. Are government (née "public") schools run for the benefit of students and their parents? Or teachers' unions? Actions speak louder than words.

I see that teachers themselves can call a "no-confidence" on the superintendent here in Rochester (more). I have never heard of the students' parents being able to do this. That seems backwards to me as the parents are allegedly the customers. Can you imagine if grocery stores were run for the benefit of the employees and the so-called customers had little say? What kind of product and service quality might you expect?

When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children.
-- Albert Shanker, Former President of the American Federation of Teachers

Detroit and Decay - WSJ.com: "The city may abandon half its schools to pay union benefits. Detroit was once America's fourth largest city, though today large sections of its inner core are abandoned to the elements, and monuments like Michigan Central Station are returning to dust. Another emblem of civic decline is a plan to desert nearly half of Detroit's public schools so that it can afford to fulfill its teachers union contract. The school district is facing a $327 million deficit and has already closed 59 schools over the last two years to avoid paying maintenance, utility and operating costs. Under a worst-case scenario released this week by Robert Bobb, an emergency financial manager appointed by the state to resolve the Detroit education fisc, the district will close another 70 of its remaining 142 schools to save $31.3 million through 2013. "Additional savings of approximately $12.4 million can be achieved from school closures if the District simply abandons the closed buildings," the proposal explains, purging costs like boarding up buildings, storage and security patrols. Steven Wasko, a spokesman for Mr. Bobb, said that urban property sales have been difficult, in part because until recently the state board of education banned transactions with "competing educational institutions" like charter schools. Once buildings are deserted, even if the doors and windows are welded shut with protective metal covers, scavengers break in and dismantle them for copper wire, pipes and so on. Under the emergency plan, consolidated high-school class sizes would increase to 62 by 2014, "consistent with what students would expect in large university settings." Yet under the terms of the Detroit Federation of Teachers contract, the district must pay bonuses for class enrollment over 35, thus imposing some $11.1 million in new costs through 2014. Note that this dispensation carries about the same price tag as the school abandonment windfall: In other words, Detroit may end up destroying serviceable capital assets so it can pay its public workers more over the short term."

Additional links:
The No Confidence Vote - Failing Schools
Teachers plan no-confidence vote against Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard
Rochester City School District: 277 People Make Over $100,000 !!
Should Obama Increase Education Funding?