Editorial: Poway Unified teachers deserve raises

The Poway Unified School District Board of Education on Monday night will likely receive for approval a contract proposal to increase teacher salaries by 2.5 percent, retroactive to last July 1. (Teachers were voting on the tentative agreement this week.)

We encourage the school board to approve the contract, which will conclude the negotiating process for the 2014-15 year. The board should then get to work, right away, on a new three-year agreement.

Teachers are the heart and soul of a school district. When it gets down to it, a child’s educational success depends largely on the connection he or she makes with the classroom teacher. The PUSD has long been fortunate in hiring and retaining some of the best teachers in the region. Their talents have contributed largely to the district’s outstanding reputation in the state.

Lately, some well-meaning parents have been questioning whether students would be best served by the board allocating the money earmarked for teacher pay raises (about $3.4 million) to the hiring of more teachers so that class sizes, which swelled during the recent recession, can be reduced. These concerned parents also question the wisdom of the board spending tax dollars now when the district is facing significant projected budget deficits in the next couple of years.

We understand those concerns, but believe that the district’s teachers are deserving of the salary increases and that, historically, projected budget deficits turn out to be less severe than thought. This is largely due to the state’s continued inability to guarantee funding levels to public education. As to reducing class sizes, the teachers’ union and district are committed to addressing the situation as revenues become available.