Superintendents Toolkit 2013

Suggested talking points: Strike threat

 No one wants a strike and we would be very disappointed if it came to that, but the Board and I feel that our final offer is as far as we can go and still maintain the well- rounded, quality education we offer students in our school district.

 In our view, the real issue is the long-term financial stability of the district and how that is connected to providing our students the best education possible.

 This school year, we have seen a cut of 11 percent in General State Aid and our Transportation funding has been cut by 42 percent. Between all of the cuts to state funding and decreases in local revenues, we have lost $ XXXXX over the past XX years.  We understand the teachers’ disappointment. We have wonderful teachers. But given the financial situation and the trend of getting less and less from the state, for us to do more in this contract very likely would result in staff reductions, larger class size and having to cut or eliminate programs like XXXXXXXXX .  We think our offer is fair when compared to teacher salaries in districts of similar size. In the end, it comes down to what is best in the long-term for our students and our community.