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OpinionTeachersí work to rule tactic is a cry for helpSalary and benefit negotiations are heating up in school districts throughout the metropolitan area. They have chosen to perform only the duties that are required under their contracts, and to discontinue any of their extra or voluntary work on behalf of their students. In the Anoka-Hennepin School District itís reported that the teachers union ordered the work rule asking teachers to arrive and leave school at their contracted hours, to grade papers, plan and fill out forms only on contract time and not to take any work home with them. They have been asked to resign from non-paid activities or hold those activities during the normal school day. Teachers are expected to give less written work so they donít have any to take home and correct. Some teachers have been without a contract since last July, which means their raises have been withheld, so frustration is natural. There is good reason to suspect some school boards are investing or spending dollars that would have gone to teachers if contracts had been settled on time. The working to rule does highlight the extra work many teachers do daily, and certainly sends that message home to parents. At the same time, the working to rule sends the message to parents and students that teachersí concerns about their contracts are greater than their extra service to students, whom they continually say is their number one concern. Most teachers, undoubtedly, are emotionally torn by this tactic, because it goes against their innate desire to teach students with every resource and ounce of strength in their bodies. In Anoka, teachers now are rallying on their behalf at school board meetings. In Anoka-Hennepin an estimated 500 teachers bannered and carried signs saying they are loyal teachers working for a disloyal school district. These tactics only heighten the emotions of an already strained staff and are bound to interfere with effective teaching. School Boards playing the stalling game are equally to blame. Their offers are generally on the low, and sometimes insulting side, because their low offers and the teachersí unreasonably high starting offers have to be reconciled somewhere in the middle. One reason for the delays is teachers unions are reluctant to accept a lower offer because it sets the standard for settlements for other school districts. Contrast all of this to the administrators at Elk River School District 728 who have decided not to seek an increase in salary or benefits for this contract year. A spokesman said ìWe realize the struggles of the district having had a hand in the budgeting this year.î Such a strategy is unlikely to be followed by others. It is time for school staff to realize that at this time some school districts have had to cut into the bone of the system to pay salaries that just wonít be as generous as in the past. And it is time for school boards to recognize the hard work and dedication of their staffs and to realize that working to rule is a cry for help and the need to agree on their salaries and benefits. - by Don Heinzman ©ECM Post Review |