Elephant 1 - Troy Teachers Contract
Elephant 2 - Troy School Bond Proposal
As a community member and parent - I have two desires for these Elephants.
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1) Troy Teachers Contract gets settled.
2) The School Bond Proposal gets passed at the Nov 5 election.
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Our Troy teachers made major concessions in the last contract to help keep the district financially solvent. And, I deeply appreciate the tough moves and decisions the school administration has made to keep our schools financially stable. We are in better shape than most other districts.
Times are changing and we have to compensate our teachers fairly.
Our teachers show up in the classrooms everyday. They continue to absorb all the constantly changing demands of new standards, new kids, new families year after year.
Our teachers don't just do their job in Troy.
They do it well. Our children are thriving - and our teachers deserve some credit.
The Bond issue, in my book, is just a simple responsibility. We need to take care of our properties and buildings. It costs large lumps of money to address boilers, bus replacement, etc. The Bond is a sensible solution. It spreads the cost out over several years. And, our financially savvy school administration has arranged it so that the Bond Approval will maintain the existing millage rate - not increase it.
NOTE: Bond money can only be directed to the list of things specified -- it cannot pay for salaries. It is specified for busses, technology, buildings, etc. So, it is a separate "Elephant" from the teacher contract.
Our conservative administration is a strength.
Our dedicated teachers are a strength.
I truly hope these two strengths in our community can find the common ground to move forward together. Personally, I'm on both your sides. It's a hard place to be right now.
And Voters - please vote Yes on November 5th -- or feel free to absentee vote earlier - here's a link to the application form: http://www.troymi.gov/Portals/0/Files/Election/AVApplication110513Election.pdf
Thank you for your time.
