By Chris Altobello
On Jan. 7, the Marion Education Association, representing nearly 3,000 professional educators, presented the Marion County School Board our final appeal to settle the 2008-09 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This concluded many months of negotiations between the two parties, and ended with the School Board denying our minimal request.
We have since read several articles in the Star-Banner regarding the current school budget crisis. Some have attempted to spin our request as just another greedy effort by teachers to get a raise during these difficult times. Let me be clear: The MEA did not ask for one cent more than the county had already budgeted for this purpose, even after making cuts that exceeded the hold-backs directed by the state. My guess is that you haven't — and probably won't — hear that from the powers that be.
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