Union should carry the burden of its own demands

Frontiersman editorial board

Each side considers a strike to be the final option -- one that should be avoided if at all possible -- but middle ground is still a distant glimmer between the Mat-Su School District and the Matanuska-Susitna Employee Association. The next step in the contract negotiation process is arbitration, and MSEA representatives have already said they'll walk if the district attempts to force unpalatable arbitration recommendations on the teachers.

Perhaps what this negotiation needs more than anything is a dose of sunlight. Perhaps the process has grown jaundiced from too much time behind closed doors and too much time spent under the covers of rhetoric and accusation. MSEA is unhappy about the share teachers are being asked to pay for health care, and is also unhappy about the salaries teachers are collecting. The district says there's simply no room in the budget to increase its contribution to health care or to increase salaries. Let's see it.

Those arguing for the teachers' requests like to claim that there is often money to be found in the budget -- hidden funds that magically appear when the district encounters a crisis. The administration says there's no such hidden money, but that the budget does allow for some flexibility in emergencies. We say, let MSEA look at the budget and find the hidden funds. Let MSEA play the role of bad guy this time. If programs have to be cut, class sizes have to be increased or maintenance has to be postponed, let MSEA decide.

Neither side seems willing to compromise at this point, and each side will naturally exaggerate its own position, but it clearly isn't fair for MSEA to demand more from a finite budget and then allow the administration to swing when the community screams about large classes, inadequate books and lost programs. A common war cry against the administration lately is to lament the recent pay increase Chief Administrator Bob Doyle received and to complain about funds spent on the new administration building -- some are upset that Doyle's new office sports leather furniture. The district did save money on the administration building by refurbishing an old school instead of building a new structure and Doyle's increase was in line with what the teachers received last year. It's not even worth debating the furniture issue.

We support fair pay for all workers, and we firmly believe school teachers are among the most important people in our community. All things have reasonable limits, however, and if MSEA can show the district budget hasn't reached that reasonable limit, we'll support a more lucrative agreement for teachers. The community deserves more than accusations, innuendo and rhetoric, though. We deserve to see exactly what our students will have to sacrifice for an agreement MSEA can live with.