by Nancy Beal

Teachers in Union 103, the school unit that includes both elementary schools and the joint high school in Beals and Jonesport, are seeking a change in the 25-step pay scale under which the district has operated for years. Negotiations started last winter and, instead of lasting the usual couple of months and centering on the increase in pay and benefits, are snagged on a different issue which, teachers say, affect not just money, but their professionalism and the ability of the schools to attract and retain good teachers.