One teacher's opinion: Frontiersman's only half right

Spectrum, by Joe Nolting

I have had the great privilege of being a Mat-Su teacher for the past 20 years. Currently, I teach at Teeland Middle School and work with, I believe, some of the finest people on the planet -- from the custodial staff to the building administrators. My job is exciting, challenging and intellectually stimulating. Over the years, I have received fair wages and benefits, and have been treated as a valued employee. My future, however, is uncertain as I continue to work under an expired contract and the threat of a labor strike looms.

Most Valley residents are aware that the Mat-Su Borough School District and the Matanuska-Susitna Employee Association, of which I am a member, have a serious contractual dispute. The Frontiersman has waded into the fray with a pair of editorials questioning the tactics and demands of MSEA. In part, I agree with what their editorial staff suggests. I, too, believe that it is time for my colleagues and me to quit complaining about the incremental raise given to Chief Administrator Bob Doyle. His job is incredibly complex. We need to compensate him adequately if we want to avoid the syndrome of short-life-tenured superintendents that has plagued the school district for the past 20 years. Personally, I believe that Mr. Doyle is still being underpaid for his position.

Secondly, I am glad that the school district's administrative staff is finally housed in adequate quarters. For years our administrators have worked in cramped and unsafe conditions. I applaud the economic recycling of an old school to meet our administrative needs.

From this point, however, my opinion parts company with the Frontiersman's editorial staff. The editors suggest that if the teachers want a contract that keeps pace with the cost of living in both wages and health care benefits, then we must find the money within the district's budget. Clearly, this is not my job; it is the reason we hire a chief administrative officer and elect school board officials. They are expected to prepare a budget that will adequately compensate school district employees and allow our schools to run smoothly.

From an historical standpoint, the district and MSEA have consistently struggled to reach agreement on teacher contracts. It is a complicated process and resources are always, as the Frontiersman states, "finite." During my 20 years here, we teachers have been to arbitration and mediation on several occasions, and have even taken a strike vote. Time and time again, however, the district has been able to find the resources to craft a compromise. Sometimes this has been through shifting money from one fund to another, from using contingency funds, or from cutting nonessential services.

I must confess that I have not combed through the district's massive budget document looking for money for my next paycheck and that of my colleagues. As a mathematics teacher, though, it seems to me that the numbers are in our favor. We have fewer teachers, more students, and larger classes. The state is compensating the district at a higher rate for every student. Middle school teachers are teaching additional classes and have less planning time. Simple math suggests that there should be money available to settle our labor dispute.

With all this, if the district still struggles to find the funds needed to attract and retain quality teachers, some tough choices may need to be made. Again, this is the job of the school board and Mr. Doyle. They will need to make painful decisions about what is essential and what is nonessential in our delivery of services. Their decisions may be politically unpopular and will require a significant amount of "backbone" on their part. I hope that they are up to the task because a strike, which will be damaging to students, teachers and the community as a whole, must be avoided at all costs.

Joe Nolting is a Palmer resident.