It's official. The Butler School District, or at least the board of directors and administrators, appear to be living in a different world.

At the same time that many companies across the country and quite a few governmental bodies are freezing wages, the Butler School District announced that it had produced an early bird contract with teachers that will provide a 4.38 percent increase for the 2011-12 fiscal year; a 4.54 percent increase for 2012-13; and a 4.52 percent hike for 2013-14.

The average Butler School District teacher salary now is $51,731. The teachers also contribute just $30 per month for family health care coverage and $20 a month for a single person's coverage.

It is not uncommon in private industry for employees to pay several hundred dollars a month as their contribution to health care coverage.

Taxpayers in the Butler district have to question the wisdom or logic of such a generous contract at a time when most companies and governments are desperately trying to control costs.

An Associated Press article this week noted that when President Barack Obama ordered a pay freeze for senior White House staff, he was joining a long list of employers imposing a wage freeze as a way to avoid layoffs and control costs while a brutal recession grips most of the country.

The broad national trend of wage freezes was described as a "tectonic shift" by Terry Connelly, dean of Golden Gate University's business school, who also noted that the wage freezes and cuts are impacting white collar workers as well as blue collar employees.

But apparently there are no such economic concerns in the Butler School District.

Did members of the school board get feedback from taxpayers suggesting that they wanted to see big pay raises for teachers — and no increases in health care contributions to bring teachers' benefits in line with what most others pay?

District taxpayers also might question the thinking behind settling what is now the district's eighth consecutive early bird labor contract. While district and union officials patted themselves on the back over the generous early bird pact, taxpayers would argue that the best, most-fair contract is one in which neither side gets everything it wants. It also would be a contract approved by a narrow margin.

In this case, teachers approved the contract by a lopsided 464-24 vote.

Closer votes, even an occasional contract rejection, would suggest that the school board is doing its job in protecting taxpayers' interests.

Nobody wants to see a strike. The harmful psychological effect of a strike and the inconvenience for students and parents alike is fresh in the minds of Butler County residents following recent strikes in the Seneca Valley and South Butler districts. But Butler is, frankly, operating too far away from a potential strike or even normal contract disputes and disagreement.

It must be acknowledged that the district has been able to save about $1 million by switching health insurance from Highmark to HealthAmerica. But employee contributions should have been increased in this contract to a more reasonable level.

Given today's economic climate, and the probability of an extended recession, offering annual wage increases exceeding 4 percent and requiring no increases for health care coverage seems to be out of touch with reality.

Taxpayers in the Butler School District have much to question about this latest contract. Why so generous with annual raises? Why settle so early? Why not reasonable employee contributions for health care coverage?

Even with pay raises half the size of those spelled out in this contract and a phased-in tripling of the health care contributions, Butler's teachers would have gotten a good deal. And everyone, including the teachers and their union representatives, knows that.

It's hard to understand how and why this contract came to be. Avoiding a strike is a good thing, but so is recognizing economic, financial and real-world realities.

Taxpayers of the Butler School District deserve better.