Wendy, If you've ever relocated and for any reason, graduation, promotion etc. and you didn't research the the school districts in and around the area you were moving to, then it's not only a foolish decision, but also not a responsible one either .

Of course you can "shop around" for your education without even looking at private schools. If someone is going to move into the Butler area for work of some sort (not much left these days, but work with me here), you have the choice of Butler, Knoch, Mars, Seneca Valley, Moniteau, Karns City and Slippery Rock. Now, you're saying that you would not check those out based on what you and your child are looking for in a school before making a decision where to live? Sorry, I'm not buying it.

I know plenty of people who have moved within the county because they thought the grass was greener in another school district. It all depends on what they were looking for in a school for their children and what makes them happy in the end.

Teachers move for any number of reasons, moving back to where they went to school, coaching positions, higher wages, spouses job, whatever. So in the big picture, everyone has choices. Some choose to make no choice and by default that is their choice.

And to borrow your thought, if you're not happy with what your paying in taxes or with the education situation where you live, then maybe it's time to move on to greener pastures that would better suit your needs and desires.

But here's a suggestion that applies to any district. Instead of wasting so much time, effort and money in these labor disputes, why not focus that energy on attracting substantial businesses and good paying jobs to the area to help supplement an improve the tax base on which you can draw from? That's where are County and Township Commissioner's need to be focusing their efforts. Not on all the bickering that goes on within the entire county. It's great to have new shops and stores open up, but we need better than minimum wage or slightly over that. These people and stores should be reaping the benefits of good paying jobs in the area, not being the primary source of them.

And by the way, Merry Christmas to all of you. If you get offended by that, you're part of the problem, not the solution.