LETTER: District games

It should come as no surprise that the Clark County School District mysteriously found the money it needed to offer teachers the pay increases they were earlier promised by the school district (“Strike averted,” Aug. 29). The district’s leaders are master magicians at hiding money when it comes time to renew teacher contracts. This has happened over the last several decades of negotiations. When negotiations begin, money is supposedly spent on buses, furniture, new schools, etc. When the negotiations are settled, all those contracts are canceled. It is a practice that the district has utilized repeatedly.

This is the main reason the teachers need a strong support association to protect themselves from district shenanigans. Our state legislature is no innocent bystander when it comes to teacher pay. They are champions at legislating new education laws without the financial support to back the change in law, leaving the district to foot the bill by taking from future teacher pay increases and other mandated education requirements.

People need to understand that teachers are the most important resource in an educational system. If you are not going to properly compensate those teachers, you can’t expect to get quality teachers.