Buffalo Battle Over Cosmetic Surgery For Teachers

It’s often been said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. However, does eliminating cosmetic surgery keep the teachers away? A fight being waged in the Buffalo school district centers on whether or not teachers should be paid back for cosmetic surgery procedures.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Buffalo School Board plans to get rid of the cosmetic surgery rider used by teachers in order to help close a budget deficit of 11.9-million dollars by the end of this month. According to one board member, eliminating the cosmetic surgery rider will save the school district 5-million dollars. The board also informed the members of the Buffalo Teachers Federation that the district will also stop providing reimbursements to teachers if they decide to undergo cosmetic procedures.

According to Jason M. McCarthy, a member of the Buffalo School Board, “We have figured out a way to use resources from this useless privilege that teachers have created for themselves and putting those resources back into the classroom.” McCarthy made this statement on Monday of this week.

The desire to eliminate the cosmetic surgery rider is being met with opposition by others. In fact, Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore states that the union will take the matter to a court of law if the board moves forward with its plan.  Rumore calls the attempt to break the terms of the existing agreed upon contract “absurd” and that “if their attorney doesn’t tell them that this is problematic then perhaps they should seek new counsel.”

The Buffalo Teachers Federation has been operating without a contract since 2004. State law has kept the previous contract, complete with the cosmetic surgery rider, in place while a new deal has been worked on by all parties. The teachers union is not completely against the idea of giving up the cosmetic rider but they insist it has to be part of a larger overall deal.

The new fiscal year begins on July 1st and administrators and board members are trying to finalize the finances of the new school year before the July 1st start date. Until the new fiscal plan is in place, the cosmetic surgery remains in place. It’s unknown at this time if the rider will survive into the new fiscal year or if the members of the school board will succeed in doing away with the cosmetic surgery rider.

- MA