“Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers” by Daniel Moulthrop, Ninive Clements Calegari (director of 826 Valencia, a writing lab for students) and Dave Eggers (editor of McSweeney’s and author of “A Hearbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”) has recently hit the circuit.

The book basically speaks to the idea that if your district wants quality education, they need to pay to attract quality teachers. And if you want quality teachers who are focused on the hard job of teaching and have them stay in teaching, you need to pay them a living salary.

The book cites a recent University of Pennsylvania study that found that 33% of teacher leave within the first three years of teaching and 46% leave within the first five years. An estimated average of 800 teachers leave the San Francisco Unified School District each year-either from retirement, another job at another district or leave the profession all together. Teachers and other certified personnel (paraprofessionals, child development workers and others) are represented by United Educators of San Francisco (UESF).

Many critical services within any school district-including San Francisco-is provided by classified employees-school secretaries, janitors, clerks, luncheon staff and trades people. Many of these important employees are represented by Local 790.

UESF have been without a contract since June 2004. Local 790 members working for the San Francisco Unified School District have been without a contract since June 2005. Neither union have received a raise from the District in over three years.

The unions have also complained that the district has not been willing to talk to them. The district’s negotiators took the month of July off and didn’t meet with either union.

During the last two meetings of the Board of Education, a huge rally and demonstration of approximately 200-300 Local 790 members and their supporters have greeted the crowds coming to the Board of Education meeting. Yet, the district has not created a new contract to these key employees.

School begins this Monday. Yet, there still isn’t a new contract.

The District’s response has been that even though they pay Local 790 members less than what other Local 790 members are making working for the City, their take home is actually more because the District’s pays more of their health benefits. But a smaller salary still translates into less money for employees and their families.

I think that the best speech that I heard about this topic was a Local 790 member who reminded the board that “Our children are the ones attending your schools. Without a living salary, your students who are the children who suffer.”

If you want to keep your quality employees, you need to pay them a quality salary. And if you want quality education, then you invest in educators and other school workers who make sure that students receive a quality education.

It’s about a quality education. It’s about quality of life of your workers. And it’s about showing how you honor the people that truly create the schools-the school workers.