Making good on a promise
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obody's ever correctly accused state government of being nimble. Managing the business of state is like turning a battleship -- it happens slowly.
That's certainly the way it's been with the Legislature's promise this year to hike school teachers' pay an additional $2,500, and to provide a one-time $1,000 bonus.
The pledge came during lawmakers' general session in February, but the checks -- some still short of the promised figures -- have only recently begun to arrive from individual school districts.
Much of that delay is the result of the state goofing on its figures. When lawmakers settled on the number of teachers due to receive the salary increase and bonus, they forgot to include about 2,200 guidance counselors, psychologists and others who should have been on the list. Also, they may have based their calculation on a $2,000 raise instead of the $2,500 figure.
Ever since, it's been: "Trust us, you'll get the money we promised."
It's been interesting, then, to see how the respective school districts have handled the situation. Some, like the Davis School District, have handed out the money based on how much that state actually gave -- not quite the entire amount. Others have figured the state will be good for the money, and have paid the teachers the entire amount.
Either way, we agree with the state's education establishment that the money will be coming ... eventually. Lawmakers have promised to take care of the discrepancy during the first few days of the 2008 general session, which begins Jan. 15.
But we do continue to wonder why the governor didn't simply call legislators back into a special session earlier this year to correct the mistake.
All along, no one in state government ever claimed the extra $20 million needed wasn't available.
We asked that question in this space in May.
And we're still puzzled as to why it didn't happen; it just seems curious that it wasn't a priority for the governor or the Legislature.
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