Promises, promises, promises
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Saturday, September 1, 2007
"I don't know. Maybe all there really is just the next thing. The next thing that happens. Maybe you're not supposed to remember anybody's promises."
-- "The Misfits" (1961)
Our guess is that Utah teachers are used to playing the waiting game. They're well-acquainted with lip service and good intentions. So when the Legislature promised them all a $2,500 hike in pay and a one-time-only bonus of $1,000 earlier this year, there were probably quite a few veterans of the classroom who urged their less-experienced colleagues not to spend the money just yet.
And sure enough, it turned out lawmakers had a defective count on the number of teachers who would qualify for the bonus and raise; there were more teachers than they thought. Even as late as May, almost three months after the end of the legislative session, the state said it needed somewhere between $7.2 million and $19.9 million to make up the difference on the extra pay alone; that's a lot of wiggle room in a budget. As for the bonus shortfall, an extra $2.4 million is needed to close the gap.
Teachers, via their district-wide union organizations, are being good-natured about the delay. As our reporter Amy Stewart reported earlier this week, they're certain they'll get the money. But, that's not to say they aren't a little disappointed that the governor and lawmakers didn't place the matter of the extra pay and the bonus on the special session agenda last Wednesday. After all, it would have been a fairly easy thing to do -- the state has the money.
Instead, the governor and lawmakers will probably delay the matter until at least mid-January, when the 2008 regular legislative session convenes.
That's all well and fine, but we think this we're-in-no-particular-hurry approach fails to accomplish one of the primary tasks of offering the extra money in the first place: To attract and, importantly, retain as many teachers in the state's public-school system as possible. Teacher retention is a vital issue facing the state and our future economic prosperity. Enrollment, especially in the Davis and Weber school districts, is surging due to a demographic wave that's been cresting for the past few years and will continue for several more. If we cannot provide a good education for our children, they will not go on to be productive residents of our communities.
We appreciate teachers generally being so good-natured about having to wait on a promise made but not yet kept.
But we hope lawmakers and the governor will soon begin viewing this issue with the appropriate urgency it deserves.
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