Lawmakers save the day on teachers' pay

Quick action by Utah's legislative leaders stopped the hijacking of teacher pay.

Teachers and the public should applaud the quick reaction legislative leadership took to make sure the $2,500 pay hike and $1,000 bonus would be given directly to the teachers.

The education bureaucrats figured they could do business as usual — ignore the intent of the legislation, take the money, divvy up the spoils and run. They gave token acceptance to the legislation and ignored what the lawmakers intended in passing the law. Legislative leaders were upset, and rightly so.

But this time the bureaucrats picked the wrong policy to hijack — the serious intent of lawmakers to acknowledge the talent teachers bring to the classroom and reward them for their commitment to the education of our children.

The present conflict between legislators and public administrators is historical. Bureaucrats, all too often, see themselves as sole owners rather than stewards of the public's institutions. They frequently think that once a law is passed they are the only ones to determine how it should be implemented, and they ignore the Legislature and the public. It's often the reason that what lawmakers intended, and what gets done, is purely coincidental. Bureaucracies behave in a passive aggressive way — they do nothing, turn a deaf ear, wait until the current group leaves and make sure nothing happens while waiting for the next slate of legislators. They will then do what they do well to survive — flood them with data and reports written in bureaucratese, give indirect answers and, as the audit commissioned by the State Office of Education found, be unresponsive and sometimes ignore legislators' requests (MGT of America study, June 2001).

Most disheartening for teachers is to see their administrators, who are supposed to be working to support their professional efforts in educating students, instead appear willing to sacrifice their interests for the sake of getting along within the administrative structure. It has created a culture that is demeaning, demoralizing and that sends the message to teachers that you are not valued or respected. Is it any wonder teachers are leaving and fewer talented people are willing to enter the profession? As Robert Galvin, former Motorola chairman, once said, "Leaders must have the courage to take a risk and believe in the abilities of the people in their organization. ... Leaders must establish an environment in which workers feel respected and valued."