Teachers unions trying to bully APS school board

THE EDITORIAL of March 9, “Why would unions kill great teachers’ bonuses?” poses a rhetorical question that is easy to answer.

First, great teachers are important to good education and should be retained because they can deliver. Yes, an exemplary teacher provides 25 months of learning in a single year. So parents and students should find these teachers and take their courses.

Further, the talents of these teachers should be shared with other teachers seeking to improve.

And if these teachers are not rewarded financially for their talents and efforts, I would expect private schools and charter schools to actively recruit them. So to answer the rhetorical question: The National Education Association New Mexico and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation are rejecting the planned bonuses just to show that they run the schools, not school boards.

So, I suggest to the APS school board that they pay the bonuses now and if the teachers protest, make the point that retaining exemplary teachers to improve student outcomes is important. GEORGE RICHMOND Albuquerque

NOTE: George Richmond is a board member League of Women Voters Central New Mexico and member of Common Cause New Mexico. The views are his own and not necessarily those of the two organizations.