Dear Editor:

I have read letters to the editor and seen lots of posts on Facebook about the current contract negotiations between the teachers’ union and the school board. What is noticeably absent in all the talk are the sticking points. There are two sides to every story and the public hasn’t heard or seen why a contract isn’t done. It’s easy to side with our educators; they have a sometimes thankless job that most of us just plain couldn’t do. They are tasked with teaching our next generation of leaders in our ever changing world. We all know them; they are members of the community and our neighbors. So why has a contract not been done? The school board members are also our neighbors, elected by us to represent us. They obviously know a lot more about this than we do, and they have yet to approve a contract.

Here’s an idea, make the current contract proposal public, for all taxpayers to see.

Let the taxpayers see for themselves if it’s a good deal for all parties involved. It’s easy to side with our teachers, but without knowing the facts I, for one, can’t take a side. Is the sticking point salaries? The students that were involved in the “sit in” had mentioned salaries, but didn’t elaborate. The vocal teachers that have written letters and spoken publicly haven’t mentioned the issues, only talking points.

If you want public support, you must give the public information. Forget the talking points or generality; tell us exactly what the issues are. The school board has been noticeably quiet publicly, which they are required to be during contract negotiations. Is it fair to judge based on one side of a conversation? Is it fair for one party to publicly ask for sympathy from the taxpayer when the other party can’t speak publicly on the issue?

I would ask the teachers’ union to request the proposed contract to be made public. Explain your position in public; allow the school board to explain their position in public. Until this happens, whatever is written or spoken is just not worth the time.

Steve Lewis, Chuck Cunningham, Dale Harmon and Steve Ham

Selectmen

Town of Boothbay