New year, same issues

The school year is well underway, and all seems quiet with the Pleasant Valley School Board.

Following a volatile end of the school year last May- due in large part to a district wide reshuffling of schools and programs- it's easy to understand why the board has opted to stay out of the spotlight.

That may change, though, as Pleasant Valley teachers begin to mobilize in protest of pay raises they say were promised but never given. Union members were expected to address the school board last night to voice their dissatisfaction with the board's decision to grant teachers a 1.5 percent pay raise.

Much was made of the fact that the school district closed schools last year in order to free up money for teacher pay raises. Pleasant Valley teachers, who rank among the lowest in the county for pay, backed the school board in the decision to close schools. Now, it looks as if the teachers are distancing themselves from the same school board they supported just a few months earlier.

According to officials with the Pleasant Valley Education Association, the school district's raise is offset by an 18 percent rise in insurance costs.

Similar to most school districts, Pleasant Valley pays a certain amount of each teacher's health benefits. The remaining amount of coverage- depending on the health plan selected- is for the teacher to pay.

Pleasant Valley teachers receive about $6,500 for their health benefits. Union officials said the countywide average is about $10,000 per teacher.

Union leaders would not say how much money they do want- but it's clear the two parties aren't especially close on their numbers.

As the New Year begins, it looks as if they school board will be asked to make some more tough decisions.

Do they close more schools to free up additional money for teachers? Or do they tell teachers that enough is enough and risk another walk out or the slow exodus of the district's top educators?

The other big question is where does the push for unification fall into this equation? Is the move to unify worth the money paid to consultants, lawyers and others needed to lobby the state to bring high school students into the Pleasant Valley district? Or could that money be better spent elsewhere?

Finally, the board will be forced to ask itself how it will deal with the volunteer finance committee brought on board last year to offer solutions to the district's money problems.

It may be the start of a whole new school year, but it's still the same old problems.