Thank you Mary, but let me be clear, I don't think anybody on a school board who would let a situation with negeotiations get so bad that a strike occurs is in any way innocent. Nobody wins with a strike, but as a measure of last resort, it usually shakes out a deal. My point was simply that history shows that the final deal reached after strikes is usually right in the middle between the two sides "best" offer before the strike. But, it takes both sides to move to that point. Neither side feels they can afford to blink first. Unfortunately, the system we have is broken, and only benefits lawyers.

My solution. Phase in a state-wide teacher salery over the next 20 years. All new teachers hired the first year get the same pay state-wide. The second year, all those 1st year teachers move up to a newly established state-wide rate, while the new 1st year teachers get a standard rate. Over 20 years, you just keep moving people up, and phaseing out the old contracts and old saleries.

Property tax issue is easy after that, and best of all - no contracts or strikes to worry about.