Hundreds of teachers in the Boulder Valley School District called in sick to work in recent days, leaving students in a lurch. District and union negotiators in Jefferson County and Greeley have declared impasses. The disagreements are all about proposed pay increases to teachers in difficult economic times. Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno and policy analyst Ben DeGrow discuss the problems of “sick-out” tactics and public employee strikes, as well as the need to pay teachers for excellence rather than seniority.
