And speaking of North Dakota, teachers there may have "state employee" status in their future. Politicos in the Roughrider State have recently begun to talk seriously of shifting teacher compensation from district to statewide authority.

What are the implications of a shift from district to state control? Supporters argue that a state-controlled pay system would reduce periodic tension between school boards and teachers during contract negotiations, as well as equalize the pay scales between large and small districts. Nay-sayers, however, contend that the shift reduces local power and will limit their ability to be flexible.

Most states do have a minimum salary schedule in place for their districts, leaving districts some negotiating rights. But even so, these state-set schedules can have the effect of reducing a district's capacity to consider meaningful merit, hardship, and distributed pay where needed. Buyer beware.