Rather than criticize those that are not as speedy as you might wish, how about praising those that have the resources during these dark economic days to provide you the info rapidly, and be patient with respect to the others who are no doubt struggling to keep their nose above water.

And for the record, my almost 30 years of public service including all the benefits left me hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars behind my contemporary attorneys who left laws school at the same time I did. There is a cost, one that might shock you, with responding to requests of this sort. Rather than make this an annual affair, why not do this every 3 or 4 years and at least spread the cost. Of course, you are free to review the documents in person and avoid the copying and mailing costs, as well as the administrative costs associated with such requests. Just a thought. If you really care about the cost of government, as do I, you should consider the very real impacts in terms of cost of your request. You can easily become part of the problem, not the solution. Thanks.

We’ll never know what the data might show, unless/until it is available, eh? Assumptions can be tricky.

I think most would agree that, at a minimum, convenient public access to schools’ labor contracts would be a big step forward. If this is the practice of any Contra Costa school district, it would be great to know.

Yes, I agree with the “sunshine” comment. Labor contracts should be available. I’m just not sure posting individual teacher salaries that are paid pursuant to those contracts would generate much sunshine. But I can be convinced otherwise.

While it is common practice for cities and counties to provide online access to employee labor agreements, this does not appear to be the case for schools. For example, labor agreements for Mt. Diablo Unified are not available online (or, if they are there, I cannot find them). It would be a benefit to parents and taxpayers alike to see precisely what union rules govern the school (and tie the hands of school principals, etc.).

Sunshine is the best disinfectant, no?

I’m curious about extending this to school districts. I definitely see the value of disclosure when it comes to administrators. However, I’m not sure I feel that way about individual teacher salaries and benefits, which are unlikely to involve the kinds of issues we’ve seen in other public employment categories. The main plus I can see is that you would be able to look at average salary differentials between inner city schools and more affluent districts.