Tim Sandford, a teacher at Lake City High in Coeur d'Alene, said the teacher contracts in his district have worked well for years. "It allows us to teach with integrity, innovate and invest our lives within our communities," he said. "It's not about protecting bad teachers - it's about protecting good ones." He added, "I'm a conservative voter, I'm a member of the IEA - they're not mutually exclusive."

Sandford said, "The negotiation process works when it's done in a collaborative manner. We have fostered that in Coeur d'Alene in the last few years." He said, "I don't think we should throw out the baby with the bathwater." He suggested looking at models around the state that are working, and trying those in other districts that are struggling, as a way to achieve reform.

Sandford said it's been recently reported that when the Titanic hit the iceberg, if the captain had stopped the ship, it would've slowed the in-rush of water and allowed everyone on the ship to escape alive. "I'm calling on you to stop this ship, take our time, and bring all stakeholders to the table," he said.