It is most definetly about the money

But also when you get the money.

Here is an excerpt from the Greater Grafton Blog and a very astute commenter who is clearly a teacher:

Third, let me try to clarify the pay scale for teachers. New teachers start out making somewhere in the low $30,000 range. WITH a positive review, they will move to the next “Step” on the pay scale which includes a merit raise (I don’t know if that’s what they call it) along with the percentage raise that was negotiated. This happens for the first 10 years. After that, merit raises are given every 5 years. So the veteran teacher gets only the negotiated raise between years 11-14, 16-19, etc. So if the original offer was 0% over 3 years, teachers in their 11th year would get no raise, while those who move to the next “step” would receive their “step” raise only. I believe the step raise helps equalize the difference between a 2% raise at $30,000 and 2% at $54,000. So I do know for a fact that the 0% raise originally offered would have given many of the veteran teachers no extra money over the 3 year contract. But there would be some, mainly newer teachers, who would consider to receive a raise based on a positive review.

KD is approaching a time when he would get no pay increase and that language needs to be reviewed and updated. There are reasons why teachers belong to a union and to all those unsupportive folk who work in the private sector who do NOT belong to a union...you should get a grip.