Do not lose heart. Things look bleak--no contract, state cuts--but this is the time when we must stand firm. It's easy to give in to hopelessness, to feel that any action we take is feeble and unnoticed. Perhaps we even think about taking the meager deals that have been offered to us out of fear that something worse will come. We must not waver.
Considering the threats made by our governor on the health and well-being of our public education system, some might consider the idea of taking an easy offer from the district as a way to show that we are willing to sacrifice for our students. Having gone through this situation in another state and two other districts, let me inform you of two things:
One, the contract offers that our bargaining team have set forth already are sacrifices on our part. A two percent, let alone a half of a percent, increase does not cover the growing costs that we face as we support our families. Meanwhile, the sudden and forced increase to our health care contributions demonstrate our sacrifice in our monthly checks. This is all from a budget that has already been made, work we have already done. The funds are there, as our bargaining team has demonstrated.
Two, I have worked in districts where the teachers have decided to take great sacrifices for the sake of their students. I saw five years with no step increases, three of those with further salary cuts. Instead of demonstrating to our naysayers our deep commitment to our students and district, the enemies of public education used our cuts as "proof" that we did not need the money, healthcare, or benefits to begin with.
We need our district to stand with us. They should offer us better than we have asked to show the state that they value us, our experience, and our commitment. Together, we can then push back these negative attacks on our children and their education. United, we can make our fellow Alaskans see that short-sighted promises should not be fulfilled at the cost of our state's future--the future embodied in the students we serve.
It may not seem like much to wear something red on Wednesdays, to enter and exit our buildings together, or to show other seemingly small acts of community. However, these "small" acts show a deeper fire burning within us; a fire that is stoked every time we look into the eyes of our fellow colleagues and friends and see the same longing for justice within them. Standing with one another, we see that we are not alone.
It is not time to despair. We will stand together and be stronger for it.
Considering the threats made by our governor on the health and well-being of our public education system, some might consider the idea of taking an easy offer from the district as a way to show that we are willing to sacrifice for our students. Having gone through this situation in another state and two other districts, let me inform you of two things:
One, the contract offers that our bargaining team have set forth already are sacrifices on our part. A two percent, let alone a half of a percent, increase does not cover the growing costs that we face as we support our families. Meanwhile, the sudden and forced increase to our health care contributions demonstrate our sacrifice in our monthly checks. This is all from a budget that has already been made, work we have already done. The funds are there, as our bargaining team has demonstrated.
Two, I have worked in districts where the teachers have decided to take great sacrifices for the sake of their students. I saw five years with no step increases, three of those with further salary cuts. Instead of demonstrating to our naysayers our deep commitment to our students and district, the enemies of public education used our cuts as "proof" that we did not need the money, healthcare, or benefits to begin with.
We need our district to stand with us. They should offer us better than we have asked to show the state that they value us, our experience, and our commitment. Together, we can then push back these negative attacks on our children and their education. United, we can make our fellow Alaskans see that short-sighted promises should not be fulfilled at the cost of our state's future--the future embodied in the students we serve.
It may not seem like much to wear something red on Wednesdays, to enter and exit our buildings together, or to show other seemingly small acts of community. However, these "small" acts show a deeper fire burning within us; a fire that is stoked every time we look into the eyes of our fellow colleagues and friends and see the same longing for justice within them. Standing with one another, we see that we are not alone.
It is not time to despair. We will stand together and be stronger for it.
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