The unfortunate thing is that Murray School District's negotiations with teachers got hung up last week over a football coach.
Athletics, and football in particular, get far too much attention in the public school system, often at the expense of the things that ought to matter most.
But the decision to hire Chris "Keeko" Georgelas as Murray High School's coach and business teacher, at a salary above what he normally would qualify for, does offer a lesson in supply and demand. If public schools want to improve, if they want to quit losing good teachers to the private sector, they are going to have to begin paying more money for the good ones.
That was the reasoning behind a new state law that allows districts to sign contracts with individual teachers. It also was the reasoning behind Gov. Mike Leavitt's initiative, announced during his state-of-the-state speech in 2001, to provide up to $20,000 each in bonuses to math and high-technology teachers who decide to teach rather than enter the private sector.
Teachers often view that kind of thing as unfair. English and history teachers wouldn't get the bonus, they note.
Well, of course it is unfair when viewed from the point of view that all people should be paid equally regardless of what they do. But it is very fair when viewed from the point of view of supply and demand. The public clearly values some jobs more than others. That's why, for example, professional basketball players make more than dentists. Complaining about the relative values of each will do little to change the market realities.
If schools want to retain the teachers most likely to be lured into the private sector, they must be willing to offer enough salary to compete. That means some teachers will get more and others will get less, even though what they ultimately offer toward the education of a child may be of equal value.
By all accounts, Georgelas is a good football coach. He was the athletic director and acting football coach at East High School. If he hadn't been hired by Murray, he likely would have been snatched up by another district.
Murray could be rightly accused of having its priorities out of line for concentrating on hiring a coach rather than an outstanding math teacher. The over-emphasis on team sports in society has led to a skewed view of personal values on many levels. But we're guessing that a lot of fans in the Murray area may agree with the decision come fall.