Teachers are not overpaid

Mr. Ehlers' letter about our overpaid teachers may be heartfelt, but the numbers were misinterpreted. Teachers aren't overpaid, and they aren't the problem in education today. Yes, The Nugget reported average teacher salaries of $82,000, but this number is called a loaded number, which is made up of actual paid salary, health and life insurance plus retirement benefits.

If Sisters is lucky enough to have low teacher turnover, then their average take home salaries will be higher than other districts, but starting salaries of $32,000 per year are normal today. Ask yourself; if you had a college degree, would you be willing to work for $32,000 a year before taxes, with no insurance? How long could you continue to teach with no retirement; how much can you save on $32,000 per year? If it weren't for the benefits, we would have no teachers!

One of my closest friends went back to school at age 48 to get a teaching degree. This is a story of what teachers actually do for the minimal salaries they get. Two years later he was certified to teach physics, math and chemistry. He had a masters from MIT and 20 years engineering experience in high tech. His starting salary was $36,000 plus benefits. If he taught 10 years, he could make $46,000, if he took classes on his own time to keep his certification current.

He teaches six classes each day plus on study hall.

He is required to spend every third lunch hour patrolling the parking lot.

He is available after his classes for students who need help.

His day is not eight hours, it averages nine to nine-and-a-half.

When he leaves school, his day isn't over.

He'll spend the next two to three hours grading papers for 140 students, preparing tests, or preparing lesson plans.

And then he is not done; he can't teach effectively if he doesn't spend time each week keeping up with advances in his subject areas.

He also spends about four hours a week communicating with parents, most whose kids are making little effort to learn.

We worked together for many years in the same industry, averaging 10 hours per day for years.

He works more hours now than he did then, is paid 1/5 as much and enjoys it less.

So lets do the numbers again. Days equal 187 times 11 hours per day = 2,057 hours. Divide $36,000 by 2,057 hours = $17.50 per hour before taxes.

Mr. Ehlers makes one last error. He attempts to "annualize" a teacher's salary by expanding the 187 days to the typical work year. Sorry but it doesn't work that way. They make only their contract salary, period. It is paid over 12 months. Annualized or not, it is still $36,000 plus benefits.

I have asked my friend why he is doing this. He doesn't need the money and his day is mostly spent with students making excuses and disrupting his class, anything but learning. His first year was almost his last. It took him two months to decide if he would teach again. This last year was worse than thefirst. Nationally, our best teachers average less than 10 years before quitting to go into the private sector where they will make more and enjoy their work more.

No, Mr. Ehlers, teachers aren't paid too much; they are paid too little. When we don't pay enough we don't attract the best talent, not even the second best. Thank God that some people put teaching above their personal gain, and return year after year in an environment where neither students nor parents value knowledge and recognize the rare gift we taxpayers provide for them. There is much talk today about getting better teachers. There should be more talk about why any intelligent person would pay for four years of college and another year to get a teaching credential would be willing to go to work for $32,000 which is the typical starting salary.

Cutting teachers' salaries is the wrong way to solve this crisis. It's like saving money on car maintenance by not changing the oil. It saves a little now, but it will cost a lot more later. Low teacher pay leads to turnover and worse, the inability to attract top talent. No, they are not overpaid, and thank God we have them.

Howard Jameson is a resident of Sisters