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While not as public as the Austin Public Schools Board meeting on April 14, Monday night’s work session was no less emotional as board members began the difficult conversation while looking inwardly at a problem that has several teachers feeling left out and under appreciated or in the worse circumstances — leaving the district for other jobs.

There were no public speakers, but there were several of those sitting in on the meeting with a vested interest in this conversation. There are questions that will need to be answered and there will be decisions that will need to be made, but within this process it’s important to understand two incredibly significant points: Whatever happens going forward should be collaborative and whatever decisions that are ultimately made are made in the interest of the students in the school’s care.

This will not be easy and will include questions of how to approach the issue: will training be required for administration? Should the contract be approached in a different way? These are just  two questions representing the very tip of the iceberg that will also include the board to look at how it approaches its own duties and responsibilities and in turn how does administration approach their respective side of these same two things.

These have also been very important discussions as of late and as these discussions are held it’s worth remembering that a school board’s primary responsibility should be governance and policy. That’s not to say it, as a whole, should not be concerned with what is happening in the district, but put plainly approaching the running of the district and the schools in Austin is the very point of administration. We have administration so the board can concentrate on policy that blankets the well being of the entirety of the district.

At the same time, while the contract between the district and its teachers does give APS the right to decide how to allocate its staff, it’s worth emphasizing that this would serve all parties better if it’s not done in a vacuum.

It’s too early to determine just how this might look in the future, but perspective is always important and that perspective can come from both sides of future discussions so long as there are clear paths forward.

Perhaps more than anything, however, is a necessity to keep the discussions constructive and not let them devolve into one side versus the other. Both sides will need to amicably come together to have focused and meaningful conversations that benefit the entire district, which includes both sides of the coin.

We fully understand there is frustration and anger in the district, but branching off in different directions through different avenues could very well be contrary to what’s trying to be accomplished and could undermine efforts in the future to further cement a cohesive environment that benefits the students.

We also understand the pressures being heaped on educators, but we also hope that constructive and meaningful progress can be made that can keep this from being a further distraction from educating students who these teachers are dedicated to educating.

It’s far easier to point a finger and blame the other side, but a more thorough path to creating something long lasting and solid is going to be beneficial for everybody going forward. The lessons learned today are the basis for unity tomorrow.