In my view

My name is Christi Malcomson and I am a third-grade teacher here in La Conner. Many of you may not be aware that our La Conner teaching staff is entering a negotiation period for salary compensation for the next school year, 2018-2019.

The Washington Supreme Court has ordered legislators to amply fund basic education including competitive salaries to keep and support our teachers. This legislation was further reinforced in April by allocating an additional $1 billion for teacher compensation. When our teaching staff learned there was an opportunity to bring our teaching salaries in line with those provided for our neighboring districts, we were beyond excited. This feels very much like our year to change how the 50-plus teachers in our district are compensated.

I have been a certificated teacher here in La Conner for six years and prior to that was a paraprofessional working with Title 1/LAP kids for seven years. I love working here and I particularly love working with our student population. We are a unique community with strengths and challenges. All of which makes for a lively, inspiring and challenging school day!

I hope to retire from this district when the time comes and have no interest in being anywhere else. But that will be difficult if our compensation structure doesn’t change. There are approximately 35 percent of teachers in our district in the same position. Bearing in mind that social security payments are based on one’s highest years of inflation adjusted income, many of us are dependent on salary compensation in these later years of employment in order to maintain an adequate standard of living after retirement.

Additionally, La Conner teacher’s salaries are currently ranked 21 out of 24 certificated districts in our region. This ranking is behind Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Stanwood and even Coupeville. As it stands, a teacher in the La Conner school district could get a five-figure annual raise simply by driving a short distance. None of us want to do that. It would be a huge loss to our district, given our unique capabilities and genuine love of our community of students.

I, and my colleagues, are hopeful that this year we will be able to negotiate successfully for adequate compensation. We look to our community for support and encouragement. Thank you for all you do to support our schools and our amazing students.