Mon., Aug. 18, 2014

Press edit: Teachers take that fair offer

Great teachers are worth their weight in gold.

But all teachers aren't equal.

That's the fundamental problem when teachers' unions - when any public unions - push for across-the-board increases. All employees don't produce the same results, so they should be evaluated individually and they should be rewarded individually.

As Coeur d'Alene School District negotiators continue their back-and-forth "discussions" now well into the 11th hour - anybody notice that the new school year is about to start? - several disrupters have become apparent.

For one, union negotiators are either oblivious to or simply disregard the tremendous boost they received from the school district last year. Teachers received an across-the-board increase of 2.5 percent last time around, the biggest raise of its kind in the entire state. It was not one-time bonus money, either. It's now baked into every teacher's annual wages going forward. Yet there's no acknowledgment of that windfall as teachers pursue another 1 percent across-the-board increase this time around, plus additional raises based on other criteria. Complete editorial here.

Agree or disagree? Should teachers/negotiators accept the offer?

Posted Aug. 18, 2014, 1:48 p.m.