Normally I'd support the teachers in a case like this, but not this time. The teacher's here are some of the highest paid in the state, and it's a low COL area. They got a 7% raise last year when there was no money and no other district offered a raise. They refuse to accept the 8.5% (roughly) raise the district is currently offering.
The only ones being hurt by this are the kids.
So I stop repeating myself:
Teachers in my district threatened to strike for the 2017-2018 school year if they didn't get what they wanted. The district offered a 7% raise with money the district didn't have. The teachers settled, and there was no strike. No other district in the area got a raise for the 2017-2018 school year.
There was /a class action lawsuit against my state claiming that the state was not adequately funding education. They won and my district alone got $9 million dollars to fund education. The teachers want all of that for their paychecks, but it's not just for teacher pay.
The district offered an 8%-9% raise for the 2018-2019 school year, but that wasn't enough for the teachers because surrounding areas were getting a double digit raise and they aren't. The district offered a 13% raise, and the teachers have refused that as well. Average salary here is $53,000-$55,000 base, maxing out at $110,000. While there are areas that are a high COL, my district is a low COL. A double digit raise is unsustainable and will bankrupt the district in 5-6 years.
Also, the district has been pretty open and transparent about negotiations and what they're trying to do. The teacher's union has done little else but post inflammatory, accusatory information about negotiations and has yet to answer a direct question from the community, but says the district is being divisive.
Update 9/7/18: They finally pulled their heads out of their asses, came to an agreement, and my kids will FINALLY be starting school on Monday.
