Our teachers shape our future leaders through teaching our children. We need to show or appreciation for the excellent work of our teachers.
If you want a good educational institution, you need good teachers. If you want an excellent educational institution you need excellent teachers. The Scotts Valley School District has enjoyed the privilege of having excellent teachers. If we want to keep this tradition, we need to attract and retain the very best teachers. Teachers need to be the district priority in establishing the budget, second only to our students. We need to re-establish a relationship with our teachers that shows we value the contributions and the sacrifices they make for the good of our children. This is my top priority. I've seen several excellent teachers leave our district in the last few years. We cannot afford this trend to continue. My solution is to have open and transparent contract negotiations with the teachers. I believe a board member should participate in the negotiations process to bring back a level of trust to the parties. Additionally, the teachers need to be a part of the strategic planning of the district. If you wanted expert advice on a plumbing matter you would call a plumber. Our teachers are the subject matter experts on the needs of our educational institution. I would also push to establish a labor-management committee to allow for ongoing communication on issues that would improve the relationship between the teachers and and district administration.
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