It isn’t about money, but power

The Herald’s coverage of the Marysville teachers’ strike has missed a significant part of the story.

As a Marysville teacher, I know that we wouldn’t have gone on the first strike in our history, and held out this long, over a specific rate of pay. We want improvements in our contract, but we are always willing to negotiate.

The public needs to know that these negotiations are not just about what teachers will be paid, but how they will be paid. The school board and district administration want the state to set teachers’ salaries, rather than allow this issue to be bargained locally. This makes local teacher salaries dependent on the whims of politicians from across the state. In districts that already follow the state salary schedule, teacher pay is inconsistent and unpredictable, and teachers have virtually no say in the matter.

Marysville district officials keep saying they have no money. No matter what salary schedule they use, however, the district will get the same amount of money from state and local sources. The issue is how they distribute what they get.

Going to the state salary schedule wouldn’t save the school district one dime. It would, however, give the current board and administration a major political victory over the teachers’ union. And it’s a take-it-or-leave-it proposition that leaves no room for compromise. You can go up or down on a pay scale. But with a salary schedule, you either have it or you don’t.

This is about power, not money.

Seattle