Public Education has some belt tightening to do to help meet our budgets caused by this state fiscal crisis.
When I hear about run away spending in government I always worry about how it will affect our school. There are so many other places they can and should cut spending first. We want our population to be educated. We want everyone to be able to read, write, and do arithmetic. We want them to have the basic skills - therefore the opportunity for a higher education. With an education they will become a contributer to our communities and society for their lifetime.
When I hear about abuses in government jobs, I hear about fire fighters and police officers who have worked the system to work as many overtime hours as possible to get the most money for their time. It is so common place that “good” people will probably be offended by my even stating that as a problem. We should pay them what they are worth. They should work for their agreed wages. There is no doubt in a time of crisis when they are needed they should work and be paid overtime. When it is just a normal work week they should be managed properly and work their work week without overtime.
In education teachers and administrators are paid a salary. They put in a lot of hours without the opportunity for overtime pay. Occasionally there is a specific stipend for taking on an additional task. I don’t know of a single educator that has been able to “work the system” to be paid more than the agreed upon amount. Yes, they do have good hours. Yes, they do have a good work environment. Yes, they have a consistent income. Yes, they have a reliable retirement. They know what it is going into the profession.
When education spending gets cut it goes straight to the classroom. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in the budget at the local district level. I am saddened to see so many support systems for the teachers cut. The students who need the added support will be the ones hurt the most. We work toward and develop an exceptional learning environment in our schools only to watch now as we undo all that we worked toward.
We have talented teachers in our district. They are dedicated to provide our students with an excellent education. They will be working significantly harder to meet our goals for our students. I know they are up to the task. I am grateful that they are not only capable, but willing to face these challenging times. Our students will be blessed by their efforts. These latest rounds of cuts have been disheartening. I can only hope that the state will know when they have hit education enough and move toward cutting other areas which will have much less impact on our families and our future.
