Just a personal note regarding Mr. Deans' letter...

I spent more than 12 years in upper management of three human service agencies, twice as an Executive Director, once as an Assistant ED.

I always strongly believed in paying my staff as much as possible, because it always proved to be a good investment. They felt respected, they gave 110%, and they stayed with the organization, learning and growing as employees, providing the best, most humane services that were available. That was my own personal philosophy. I view the salary issue uniquely from three perspectives; as a former member of a teacher's union, who actually struck during the second coldest winter in Buffalo history for changes in working conditions (in 1977, having finished up my Bachelor's Degree in Education, I was working for United Cerebral Palsy as an awake overnight staff person in a community residence, 37 hours per week, for $2,000 a year); as an Executive Director whose practices included running with a low overhead (below 10%) and keeping staff salaries and benefits as high as I could afford (which included fund-raising) to promote staff stability, competence; and as a School Committee member who has had to negotiate a contract that impacted on the quality of education received by 2,500 kids, including my own.

Being a teacher, or working in human services, is noble and useful work; it is always value added to the community. But it doesn't get you a lower mortgage rate, a break on rent, a discount on heating fuel, or discounts on clothes for your kids. I agree with Mr. Deans that we are in a crisis, and that we have scoured the School budget to the point that there really is nothing left- no money hidden behind stairways, or in secret accounts; no staff have take home cars. I agree that every item needs to be considered, and that salaries will be probably the key point to be negotiated in upcoming contract talks. I am hopeful that the dramatic changes of the past year, and the respectful relationships forged by staff, Dr. Lyons, and the NTA will bring us all to the table with a common understanding and a desire to look creatively at how we can move forward; understanding that dollars and cents will be part of the dialogue.
Over the next several days, I'll consider a number of other points raised by Mr. Deans, including sick-leave buy-back, longevity bonuses, the competence of the School Committee to handle negotiations with the teachers, the projected and actual revenues received by the schools over the past 6 years, and several interesting points he makes about where 36% of our teachers end up on the salary scale of public servants.

Mr. Deans, please feel free to comment on these posts.