LETTER: RJ columnist ‘attacks’ educators

Victor Joecks has made repeated attacks on our local public school system. This time it’s teachers (Dec. 10 Review-Journal).

Mr. Joecks bases his rant on the premise that the 2015 tax increase for education didn’t solve the teacher shortage. He makes a good point. But then it was never meant to solve that problem. The money was a makeup for 10 years of little to no increases in pay or per-pupil expenditures and no decrease in class sizes — even though the district continued to grow.

Mr. Joecks also makes some ludicrous comments about teachers that must be unchallenged. He includes sick leave, retirement and health care in the teacher’s hourly wage. That is clearly deceitful. No one I have ever known includes those in their hourly wage. The assumption that teachers work only seven hours and 11 minutes a day is absurd. In addition to teaching students, teachers must grade papers, prepare lessons along with multiple administrative tasks and meetings. If he wanted to know why we have a teacher shortage, asking a teacher would be a good start.

As for the professional development system for teacher advancement, teachers must pay with their own funds, and they do not have time to do this at school. That claim is insulting to the hard-working teachers in this district.

I have a thought for Mr. Joecks the next time he writes about education: class size at all levels. They are way too high. There is a problem everyone would like to see tackled.