Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Re: Hernando County School Board members' raises:
"It's not my job ... ." said Sandra Nicholson at the Nov. 18 school board meeting televised on HITV, in regard to worrying about the pay raise that was offered by the state to School Board members.
"It doesn't show respect ... ." said member Gail David in regard to comments that stated that board members should not take the more than $29,000 in pay for their part-time positions, which is more than a beginning teacher makes.
Well, let me tell you Ms. Nicholson, it is one of your few jobs to worry about how to save taxpayers money and to show concern for the teachers' plight of constantly being overworked and underpaid.
You mentioned that you work hard. You have absolutely no clue how hard teachers, especially beginning teachers, work for a pittance. Your 20 hours a month of meetings does not even touch the 60-plus hours a week (240 per month) a beginning teacher puts in to make sure she/he has interesting and meaningful lessons for each period of each day, that papers are marked and followed up on, that individual education plans, academic and behavioral, are carried out, and that the classroom is orderly, even with the amount of discipline problems that need to be dealt with every day.
On top of that, don't forget the hours teachers lose from their families, even at home, creating lesson plans, grading hundreds of papers on their "time off," as well as attending extra meetings and conferences.
I know teachers who have been working in this county for many years. They have difficulty paying back student loans, they do not have health insurance on their spouse and children, and they cannot give the economy a "boost" due to their low pay.
And, Ms. David, how about showing teachers some respect? Your comments about "working hard to get teachers a 3.5 percent pay raise" were irrelevant. That's your job.
Each member should be doing everything in his or her power to get teachers higher salaries without whining about how unfair it is to hear comments that make them feel guilty. That's how the meeting came across - that Nicholson and David felt guilty. Board member Robert Wiggins was the only one who spoke the truth, saying he didn't feel right making more with his part-time position than full-time beginning teachers make.
Nicholson and David, just go ahead and take the money for what it is - beauty pageant prize money. You won the election, just take it. Who cares that there aren't enough funds for textbooks?
All teachers deserve a pat on the back for a job well done, not a slap in the face, which was exactly what school board members voted for when they voted to accept more than beginning full-time teachers.