So we are a few days later from the sit-in and while reading back my first post I did find that I made an assumption that wouldn't be true in the math.  I was comparing the first year salary from 05 to 09 as a static.  But a new teacher starting in 2005 would be on Step 4 this year making a salary of $37,659 per year.

So the increase in salary is actually 17.14% over the five year span.  From $32,150 in year 1 to $37,659 this year.  (This assumes the teacher survived any potential cuts of course.)

So does a 17% raise over the 5 year period or about 3.4% each year make sense given the economic climate we currently have?  I'm pretty sure I know what everyone's answer would be on that one.