Teacher-legislators' value to district at core of pay debate.

Byline: Susie Gran TRIBUNE REPORTER

There are two schools of thought about state legislators who are also educators.

One is that educators working in the Legislature reflect negatively on their own school districts and raise the question: Don't you have students to teach or enough work to do?

The other is the belief that education issues need all the support they can get in the Legislature and that the more teachers and administrators who can get to Santa Fe, the better.

These arguments are at the heart of a debate over revising the Albuquerque Public Schools' political leave policy.

At least three of the seven Albuquerque Board of Education members want to discourage teachers from serving in the Legislature by paying them less. They say teachers should wait until they retire, so their students get their full attention.

Current policy allows a teacher up to 70 days of paid leave during the 180-day school year. The Legislature meets once a year during the spring semester; sessions …