Jason,

Anyone who has ever worked for a salary knows that raises and bonuses are negotiated, not assigned. The guy that keeps his head down and just accepts whatever he's handed never goes anywhere.

You are right on one account, though. If South Butler refuses to compensate and treat teachers fairly, then they'll go elsewhere. SB will lose all of its talented, dedicated teachers and be left hiring from the bottom of the barrel. Already, no college grad with a decent GPA wants to touch SB School District. The administration has faced such a poor applicant pool that they've hired two teachers who can barely speak English.