Look at what is important.

Coming from Michigan I have seen a lot of heartache but I am amazed at what the state and counties are doing here. Last year most people at the central office were given outrageous raises (a raise of more than I make in a year). Then they turn around and say how they do not have the money to educate the children of this county. What is going to happen is that parents will see the lack of support to schools and their child’s education and want to go somewhere else. Money is thrown around at pointless positions that really do not help better the teachers or students. Stop providing people on the top of the chain so much because honestly, they are just passing their jobs on to someone else. A $35,000 raise in one year is unbelievable when you are talking about cutting teaching jobs. Most teachers only receive a $600 to $1000 raise a year. I do not even make $35,000 in a year, and that is how much administrators get as a yearly raise. Who are we truly helping with that? Making $80,000 in a year working for the school system is very well paid. Even a teacher who is in the classroom teaching the students and preparing these students to be our future will not see that kind of pay EVER. This is showing schools and parents that their children are less important then the head office, when truly we should be finding out ways to help the students be prepared for the real world. Completing a weekly PDSA and taking time out day after day to graph data is just taking away from instructional time which has already been cut. We wonder why we are so underperforming compared to other states: this is why. The Central Office treats the people that really make a difference with little respect and expect them to do better with less time, materials, and pay, yet more responsibilities and bigger classes. I have seen teachers making schedules, counseling students, buying their own materials to enhance teaching and all they are told is that they are not doing enough. Look above the teachers and determine what is truly important to this county. Do we want our students to be able to compete in a growing world where more education is becoming a necessity? If so, we are not showing them or preparing them for what they truly need. Really look at what is important before you look at the bottom of the totem pole. If it were not for the teachers no student would be successful. I cannot tell you the last time a student said someone at the head office taught him or her to be successful and prepared for the future.

This post was written by a concerned parent.