To The Telegram:
The unions representing the employees of the Superior School District, district administration, and the school board deserve to be recognized for their unified action Tuesday night. It appears that by rearranging the present post-retirement benefits, a process that has taken several years to accomplish, they were able to head off some very negative financial results down the road. If these actions were not taken, the result would have been either a dramatic increase in future costs to provide previously negotiated post-retirement retirement benefits or a drastic shortfall in the funds necessary to continue to provide the quality educational opportunities that are Superior's heritage. Quite likely, it would have been both!
It is not the intent of this letter to summarize the program that will now be in place, although I will say that it makes very good sense. Rather, it is my intent to showcase the process that took place to make it happen. It was very clear that concessions were made by the unions to allow the new program to move forward. In doing so, they not only fulfilled their obligations to their membership but also made it very clear that they are committed to the community as parents and taxpayers themselves. For that, they should be commended and, as a taxpayer myself, I just want to say thank you.
It is this type of cooperation that we need more of in Superior, Douglas County and northwest Wisconsin in order for our area to grow and prosper. We need to stop the exportation of our youth and offer more opportunities for them to be able to stay. The only way this can be accomplished is by all of us taking some responsibility for this end result and working together to reach that end! It also wouldn't hurt if we focused on the positives that surround us every day instead of the "glass half empty" approach. We might be surprised by what we accomplish!
-- Tim Sauter.
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