Someone at Santa Fe High School wants teachers to call in sick Tuesday to show administrators their desire for better salaries.

Teachers at the school received fliers in their mailboxes urging them to "Sick It to Them," with "them" presumably being district officials, and "Make a Statement for Our Salaries."

But Santa Fe High teachers seem to be disregarding the fliers. "I don't see how you can take it seriously," said Laurie Longiaru, pointing out nothing in the flier tells teachers whose idea it is.

Other teachers said they agree that something needs to be done to send a message to administrators, but calling in sick isn't the way to do it. "In the end, it only hurts students," said teacher Chris Eadie.

Some teachers were excited about the idea when they first saw the fliers, Eadie said, but after talking about how it would affect the school, they thought twice. "It probably is irresponsible," said Nick Pino, another teacher.

The call for a sickout apparently was spread only at Santa Fe High, since teachers and administrators at Capital High School said they had not seen the flier.

The flier comes in the middle of negotiations between the district and the local teachers' union, the National Education Association-Santa Fe. The union is asking for, among other things, 5 percent raises for all teachers and other school employees. District officials argue the Legislature approved only enough money for 5 percent average raises, and this would include larger ones, possibly as much as 25 percent, for teachers moving up in the state's three-tier pay system.

State officials, though, have said districts should have received enough money to both implement the 5 percent average raise for all employees and make up the difference for any teacher moving from one level to the next.

Superintendent Leslie Carpenter said she was disappointed teachers would urge others to call in sick to try to influence negotiations. "The teachers I know, even though they're very concerned about raises, are not the kind of people that would do anything to harm children," she said.

Carpenter said Grace Mayer, president of NEA-Santa Fe, told her the union was not responsible for distributing the fliers.

Carpenter and Mayer released a statement Friday afternoon telling staff members that neither the district nor the union "condones any organized 'Sick-Out' or other actions in violation of the New Mexico Public Employees Bargaining Act." The law prohibits strikes by public employees but does not address sickouts.

While not associated with the proposed sickout, teachers at Eldorado Elementary School are planning to picket Tuesday morning to bring attention to salary concerns, according to Patricia Shain, a sixth-grade teacher there. She said the picketing is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. and will not affect the school day.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.