Teacher pay raise squabble ends in win-win situation

It took months of negotiations and a federal mediator to hammer out the final details, but in the end the teacher?s union and school board produced a pay raise package that benefits everyone involved.

The teachers can be pleased because they get a raise and that?s something our hard-working educators certainly deserve.

A raise is especially deserving for teachers with a minimum of a bachelor?s degree. In Warren County, those teachers ranked 133 out of 136 school systems in the state in pay.

The school system benefits from the pay raise package because Warren County moves from the bottom of the pack to the middle of the field with the across-the-board raises.

It will be easier to recruit first-year teachers because now Warren County ranks 90th instead of 133rd. It will be easier to retain teachers who further their education because now Warren County ranks 73rd for teachers with a minimum of a master?s degree.

It stands to reason with better paid teachers and a school system that?s suddenly on the map in terms of first-year salaries, that our children will also benefit with a better education. That?s a win-win situation for all of Warren County.