We are once again going to ask our newspaper readers to make sure they do their homework when heading to vote on Tuesday.

On the ballot this year there are four open seats on the Marquette Area Public Schools Board Of Education. Incumbents running for re-election may be portrayed by some in a negative way because of the challenging contract negotiations that took place this last year.

What should be considered is that even though it took a long time to get a contract agreement, both sides were negotiating in the best interest of the groups they represented.

The end result of negotiations included a step pay increase, which averages close to a 4.5 percent pay raise for the teachers eligible for step pay increases.

In addition to the step pay increase all teachers received a base pay increase of 1 percent in the 2014-2015 school year and .75 percent in the 2015-2016 school year.

There is also an opportunity for another .50 percent increase in the 2015-2016 school year based on enrollment figures and state funding. All teachers also saw a reduction in the amount they have to pay for medical insurance with the new contract.

We believe that the MAPS Board Of Education has great respect for the teachers in this district, which is why they dedicate their time to serving on the board.

They had the challenging task of negotiating a new contract which would be fair to the teachers but also fiscally responsible for the school district.

The end result of the negotiations for this year was a nice increase for Marquette teachers. This came at the same time that Alpena imposed a 10 percent across-the-board cut. Menominee mandated a 5.5 percent cut and Iron Mountain schoolteachers accepted a 7.5 percent pay cut. These cuts were imposed as a necessary move to stave off being put into an emergency manager situation because their school districts would have been operating in deficit spending.

The school board has to operate the district while staying within their budget. If the expenses exceed the funding available to them they could be put into an emergency management situation, which means they would lose local control over future negotiations. The emergency manager could determine pay and benefits for the teachers based on the funding available.

We are not endorsing any individual candidates for the school board. We are simply asking voters to do their homework and make sure they vote for candidates for the school board that can balance their support for teachers with the need to operate a fiscally responsible district.

We feel the incumbent board members did a good job over the last two years keeping our district in strong financial shape. We don’t believe those trying to make villains of the existing board for protracted negotiations this past year are concerned about fiscal responsibility for the MAPS school district.

Compare the MAPS District with Alpena, Menominee and Iron Mountain and you will realize that our district is in good shape because of strong leadership.