Santa gets letters from the schools …

Frontiersman editorial board

Dear Santa: I know we didn't have our best year, but it was mostly not our fault. The school board members were bad boys and girls first. They were mean to Pat Chesbro, who was just trying to do her job. Then the unions got stubborn with us, and we had to sign on to contracts that, quite frankly, were more than the budget could handle. We weren't perfect boys and girls this year, but we tried, and we'll do better next year.

If we're still on the nice list, here's what we'd like this year. Please bring us a more civil negotiation process with the teachers this year. Please leave about $3.5 million in our stocking to help us with the current budget shortfall. Please, please, please let the bond initiatives pass so we can improve our buildings, build some more buildings, and have that central nutrition center we've been dreaming about.

No matter how many people it takes to staff all those new buildings, we promise not to lay any of them off, especially right before Christmas -- unless we really have to.

Mat-Su schools

Dear Santa: We told you this was going to happen. Those mean school administration people were really bad this year. We tried to negotiate in good faith, but they wouldn't have any of it. Sure the arbitrator said the money just wasn't there to meet all of our demands, but what did he know? Now the schools say they're short on money, and they want to blame us. We know they're hiding money under a text book someplace. We don't know why they'd do that, but we're sure they are. It was all they're fault.

If you buy that, then here's what we want for Christmas this year. We want the teachers' union to do even better in the next round of negotiations. With that piggy-back thing, that means the classified employees will score, too. Also, a map to where the district is hiding all the extra money would be nice … if it's not too much trouble.

MSEA and CEA members

Dear Santa: We really were good this year. Well, as good as kids can be -- cut us a little slack. All we want for Christmas this year is for everybody to remember the most important thing in the schools -- the students. It's really not about politics, contracts and power.

We'd like you to leave a little common sense in the stockings of all the adults running and working in the district. We hope you'll bring them a package of cooperation, a bag of civility and a couple of humble pies. It would be really nice if the headlines this year were about student successes instead of about adult bickering and sniping.

Mat-Su students