I would definitely, however you word things, make sure you give the principal a way to back down on this. Be willing to politely say with a smile "I am sure I must have misunderstood your position as I am certain the school would never sacrifice a child's right to an appropriate education in order to pay their teachers $1500 more per year.
I think Catalana has some great ideas for a letter/email above. I think this is an especially important point, to give the principal a way to save face.
I'm sure I misunderstood you, it couldn't be that a child's education is sacrificed in the name of research, isn't the goal here to improve education rather than wrecking it, there must be a way we can work together/work something out for the child's sake, something along those lines...
I must have had too much caffeine again this morning - I keep thinking, what is your BATNA here (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). Can you do math at home, regardless of what ends up happening at school? For example, my dd is doing EPGY math at home because I don't have complete faith in her school giving her the acceleration she needs, even though (they think) they're trying. Having it on the computer is quite a boon for me; it's much easier for someone else to teach her LOL, as well as guide the curriculum, and then I merely help here and there as needed.
