Wendy: I feel that we essentially agree on the core issues, but perhaps I wasn't as clear as intended in my initial letter. I concur that taxpayers should not pay more than they can afford, but I'm not certain that teacher salaries should reflect local demographics. My arguments is, however, less concerned with money than it is values. Ultimately, I'm most worried that, as you've said, our quality teachers won't be making what they're worth and will look for work elsewhere.

As a realist, and someone who has experience both in private industry and non-profits, I don't believe it's reasonable to rely on the altruism of anyone to support an organization, even teachers. While you'll always get a few incredibly self-sacrificing and talented individuals, you cannot consistently rely on being so lucky. Most people go where the money is.

This brings me to your assertion that people generally stay and work in the area they already live. While this is true for established families, it's not true for younger people, especially college graduates (teachers). South Butler has been able to abuse this fact for a few years now, but the long-term results of its board's policies are beginning to show. South Butler has had superb teachers, but most of them were hired a decade or more in the past. Those teachers, as you've said, are established and don't want to leave the area for personal reasons. However, the talented younger teachers, who don't have family ties to the area, are leaving. They're going to districts like NA, Fox Chapel, and Pine Richland just next door. Worse still, take a look at what the South Butler Board has hired recently. In a rural, predominantly white area, they've somehow managed to hire a teacher who can barely speak in English. This is only the beginning. In 10 years, if the status quo remains unbroken, South Butler will fall from being one of the better education systems in the area to its worst.

As I said, we agree that taxes can't go out of control. The problem is, South Butler needs to remain financially competitive in order to attract decent teachers. So what do we do?

The SB Board first needs to explore cost-cutting initiatives in areas not directly related to our children's education. Non-essential construction should be put on hold. They should also explore formation of a consortium with other schools to cut costs for health care. Finally, they need to be honest with the community about how much all contract proposals would cost. The simple truth is, not even the SB Education Association's highest negotiating position would have required a tax increase. Unfortunately, that's not something you'll find in the Butler Eagle, both because they have a vested financial interest in increasing hostilities and extended negotiations (look at the spikes in paper sales), and because Butch Santicola, the PSEA negotiator, is rather incompetent.

In the long term, I think we need to evaluate the possibility of compensating teachers like all other government employees: on a state-wide uniform system. We could then focus on attracting better teachers to the state as a whole, and allow local districts to compete for the best through the quality and specialty of their administration and academic programming, as well as the communities roll and interest in education. After all, educating our children is a community responsibility, and we all have an important roll to play in their development.