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Alot of people are unhappy with how Thornton is doing things right now, but as far as what he is doing I believe the staff needs to be reduced. I have said for over 2 years now that the administration should be reduced as well. However, that does not mean that the amount of teachers should stay the same. Something has to give and I think that's what they are faced with. Salaries and benefits need to be kept in check and they haven't been.

For the record this isn't teacher bashing. I have good friends and family who are teachers and do a great job. It comes down to affordability...and the total teachers, salaries and benefits cannot be sustained while the school populations continue to decline.

My real wish is that we could get some adults in the room and figure this thing out. Push for 30 layoffs as a compromise (instead of 40+), hold the line on raises for 2 years (freeze admin salaries for 3-5 years as a good faith gesture) , ask for bigger contributions towards health care. In turn, the teachers should receive a raise in year 3. Also, if future layoffs are needed the teachers should be promised that they will be done first by not refilling vacant positions with new hires, after that it should return to the usual layoff system. Both sides need to step up in order to make out city better. Blaming one side over the other does absolutely nothing to solve the problem or bring stability to the department. Every taxpayer should want this negotiated in good faith. We all need to pay attention and hold these parties accountable.