I’m very disappointed that Hans Dunshee has decided to co-sponsor HB 2343, another in a long string of legislative actions by our representatives to take rights away from workers.
This bill does nothing to address the issues that led to the strike. It does nothing to hold school boards accountable to the citizens they are supposed to be serving. It does nothing to insure that school districts will use their budgets wisely or properly. It does nothing to prevent a lame-duck board from extending the contract of a superintendent that the parents and teachers clearly want removed from the position.
The “better solution” Dunshee is seeking is legislation that would prohibit school boards from canceling regular meetings at their whim to avoid the wrath of the citizens in the district. That alone would have led to a quicker resolution of the strike. Instead we got a bunker mentality and the added expense of security guards. Criminal penalties for the indecipherable accounting by the board and superintendent might make these folks think twice before they use district money for projects other than those approved by voters.
The shortage of qualified teachers is growing across the country. Until we start treating teachers like professionals and compensating them appropriately, expect strikes like this to continue.
“It doesn’t work just to try to stick it to the teachers,” says Dunshee. Well that’s exactly what this bill does. And it sticks it to the taxpayers in the district too by removing local control and putting it in the hands of a state agency. All the more reason to kill this wrong-headed bill before it goes any further.
Marysville
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