negotiations. the main sticking paint was over increasing base pay including reducing teacher's reliance on one time bonuses for having students with high test scores or working in a high poverty school. teachers also want to earn more for continuing their education. the superintendent of denver's public schools says the district will rely on substitute teachers and administrators with teachers' licenses to keep the schools open. we will be watching that just before the top of the hour. we have msnbc contributor, mike barnicle, national political reporter, heidi, former treasury official, steve rattner and former chairman of the republican national committee, michael steele. joining the table we have democratic senator, sherrod brown, of ohio. he joins us now. joe is under the weather. let's start talking about the