PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia teachers union officials are using a violent incident and other generally bad behavior at a local high school as their latest argument against labor and budget cuts.

Bartram High School “conflict resolution specialist” Alphonso Stevens and a 17-year-old student exchanged words between classes Friday when the student grabbed Stevens “and pushed him into a wall,” district officials told Philly.com.

Stevens fell unconscious to the floor and was rushed to the hospital and treated for a fractured skull, concussion, and other injuries. Stevens is now recovering at home while the student was suspended and charged with aggravated assault, the news site reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Stevens was the third employee at Bartram to suffer injuries last week. The school is apparently spiraling out of control after the former principal left last year and district officials have struggled to find a permanent replacement.

Teachers at the school told Philly.com there are far more students in the hallway during classes than before, as well as more fights between students. Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union president Jerry Jordan took it a step further, alleging students smoke cigarettes and marijuana in school, and call for food deliveries and collect them at the front during school, the news site reports.

Jordan, of course, blamed the problem on school administrators and the impact of budget cuts in recent years.

“When you don’t have a lot of support personnel, you’re asking for a lot of disorder,” he told Philly.com.

He’s right, and the district’s inability to afford more staffers is a direct consequence of the teachers union’s very expensive labor contract. While Philly teachers get automatic raises every year, payments for unused sick days, virtually free health insurance, and district money to cover personal legal costs, the district is cutting employment positions to pay for the perks.

The PFT’s stubborn refusal to consider modest contract concessions not only hurts the district’s budget, it’s impacting schools’ most basic mission – to keep students safe and create a productive learning environment.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Many teachers would undoubtedly contribute a small percentage of their health insurance premium, or do without district-paid personal legal services, to balance the budget and create safer schools, but instead, the PFT refuses to budge as the district careens toward disaster.