I read the articles about the plight in the Marysville School District and wonder why only the school district is being allowed to publish its side of the story.
The district initiated the salary schedule and hired the teachers with it: what gives it the right to change it by saying, “you make above average so we’re cutting your pay.” Should Boeing workers take a pay cut if they make above average? If the district says they have a higher average it shows that Marysville has a high proportion of teachers with advanced credentials; isn’t that a good thing?
To talk about teachers setting deadlines and voting to strike is wrong. It ignores the fact that the union brought issues to the table and the district refused to even talk to them until they agreed, before the talks, to pay cuts and extended schedules. What the teachers voted on recently was to send the union back to try to talk with the district. They voted to have the union keep trying to hold negotiations.
I have a lot of respect for teachers. They work long hours outside of school and have increased Marysville students’ scores on standardized tests. If the district was boasting about the quality of the teachers in the early summer, why is it that they are lambasting them in the early fall?
The union is not blameless and the district is not blameless. They both have made poor decisions in the past. Now is the time to stop pointing fingers and laying blame; now is the time to move forward. Both sides need to set aside personal agendas and emotions and sit down to talk, and they need to do it now!
Marysville
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