By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

ROSEMEAD, Calif. – Teachers union representatives in the Garvey School District have been accused of using students as “political pawns” in a fight over a raise granted to the district’s superintendent.

Dozens of teachers failed to show up for work last Friday, a day after the school board voted to increase Superintendent Sandra Johnson’s salary from $148,516 to $170,000 as part of a new contract that runs until September 2014, the Press-Telegram reports.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

In a press conference Monday, school board members denounced the union and teachers for the absences, although union officials denied any involvement.

School board member Janet Chin said “teachers and their representatives have got to stand up for these actions that they’re taking against their students,” including the mass absences and inaccurate information teachers are allegedly spreading to students, the news site reports.

Whatever information the teachers have been spreading to students has apparently been effective.

Several students attended last week’s school board meeting wearing the same protest outfits as teachers and several parents. They joined in a protest of the superintendent’s raise and complained about crowded classrooms and a limited number of desks – allegations the school board claims are not true.

“We will not allow unlawful behavior of involving students in political activities and feeding them false information,” Johnson said.

Here is some accurate information about the Garvey School District:

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

School officials cut 34 teachers and seven staff members last spring to bridge a $2.1 million budget deficit. The district then hired 20 teachers and one nurse for the current school year using$1.5 million from the district’s reserves, chief business official Robert McEntire told the news site.

In light of the budget situation, we believe the union is right to be upset with school board members who increased the superintendent’s already generous salary, especially considering that Johnson gets other special payments, like a $5,700 “doctorial stipend,” and a $475-per-month “millage stipend.”

School board members should expect all district employees – teachers, administrators, support personnel, maintence workers and everyone else – to be willing to sacrifice to preserve student programs during the economic downturn. How can they expect teachers or other school employees to make sacrifices when they hand out five-figure raises to the superintendent?

But we don’t believe the hefty raise, or any other board action, is a justifiable reason to manipulate students into joining the political fray. Teachers who stayed home to protest the superintendent’s raise and those recruiting students into their fight should be ashamed of themselves.

The union’s underhanded tactics may be effective, and union leaders may even have a credible reason to speak out. But that doesn’t give them the right to treat their impressionable students like political tools.