Teachers contribute to their benefit package

To the editor:

Thank you, Claudette Dorian, for pointing out (letter, Jan. 29) that teachers such as I pay little to nothing for employment benefits. But there must be some reason my take-home pay is noticeably smaller than my gross earnings, so I got out my recent pay stub to see what was going on.

To my surprise, when I remove federal tax, home and car insurance (withheld as a courtesy and paid to a private insurance company) and union dues, I am paying $532.46 monthly for my benefits.

Yes, I am fortunate to have health insurance, but it doesn't vary much from private plans: prescription co-pays up to $80 per refill, co-pays for doctor visits, higher co-pays for dental work, much higher co-pays for hospital stays, and outrageous co-pays if I need medical care while traveling outside the Las Vegas area.

So, Ms. Dorian, $6,400 annually must be small potatoes to you. If it's such a small amount, maybe you won't mind sending it to me when I retire with a Nevada pension of about $17,000 per annum, Medicare for me, and no insurance for my wife.

Steven de Hart

Henderson

Sick leave

To the editor:

Why did it take a budget crisis to question the high number of sick leave hours being used by the firefighters? When will an audit of the past several years be done? Misuse of sick leave, paid or not, would be a fireable offense in the private sector.

Does the contract language call for progressive discipline for excessive sick calls without a doctor's written evaluation? Use of sick leave to take care of family members falls under the FMLA law and requires forms completed by a doctor.

What does the contract language have that provides for use or misuse of sick leave? Does the contract allow for part or all of accrued sick leave to be paid out upon retirement?

Sadly, all will be branded as liars and thieves because of the actions of a few. Maybe there should be just as many moral/ethical questions asked of the potential employees as there are technical questions when they take the written exam and go before the oral board.

Kim Kirwan

Henderson