JENNIFER LUKE, FNSB School Board President: Next, we have Sandi Ryan. State your name, spell your last name, area of residence, and you will have two minutes to testify.

SANDI RYAN, FEA President: Evening all. My name is Sandy Ryan, R-Y-A-N. I live in Fairbank. I'm a 28-year educator in this district and I currently serve as the FEA President. First and foremost, I would like to wish Happy Teachers Appreciation Day to all the teachers, librarians, counselors, psychologists, and therapists that are either here or listening online or on the radio. This has been a most challenging year. The 34 years that I have been a teacher, I recall working through Quality School movement, New Math, and the Common Core issues. I was a first year President when the Janus decision threatened to change the landscape of public unions across the nation. To many people's surprise, the decision strengthened teachers’ unions and united workforces in many places that had not been before.

Please listen to what I'm getting ready to say: In the 34 years I have been a teacher, with 28 of them here, I have never seen educators as disillusioned, disheartened and flat angry about the total lack of compassion or respect shown during bargaining. Say that you respect teachers, but a total failure to demonstrate it, is disheartening, to say the least. We have two bargaining dates left during the school year. Please, please direct your team to actually enter into negotiations, not a continued refusal to discuss articles presented or to even consider what our team is saying across the table.

Negotiations is a compromise. It is not demanding and stonewalling. Let us return to what we innately know is good for kids, addressing differences head on and working toward a resolution.

Thank you for your time.

JL: Thank you for your testimony.