When state lawmakers agreed to raise the pay of teachers who earn special national certification, you might expect that they studied the issue. Perhaps they weighed the pros and cons of particular levels of salary increase. Perhaps they debated various options.

No, as in the case of siting a state prison, the decision to give certified teachers 12 percent pay increases has a much simpler genesis:

As I remember it, then House Speaker Dan Blue, Rep. Martin Nesbitt
and I were headed to the governor’s office to discuss the budget. As we
walked, either Dan or Martin suggested the 12 percent annual salary
increase for certified teachers. We wanted to see whether Gov. Jim Hunt
would put the money with the rhetoric.

The governor was a little surprised when we suggested instead of his 3 percent to go to 12 percent, but he agreed.

That’s the recollection of former Rep. David Diamont, as recounted in a recent letter to the editor.

It’s too bad lawmakers didn’t study the issue before instituting the pay increases. Terry Stoops’ research might have helped them save the taxpayers some money.