Dear Ted,                            2/20/09

This morning on my way to work at an Oregon school, I heard about your idea to have teachers ‘give up’ five days of pay to help get us through this financial debacle. Don’t pick on teachers, Ted. At least not those of us who make less than $40,000 a year. We’re just barely able to purchase those classroom supplies not paid for by our schools as it is. And we work many more hours than we are paid already.

Let me break it down for you:

I am paid for 40 hours a week, but there are very few weeks that I work less than 60 hours. If I work about 36 weeks a year, I am already giving you (and society, for that matter) 90 days without pay. This time is spent grading papers, looking for and writing exciting and unique lesson plans, scouring the content standards to make sure I am in compliance, writing grants (to do things like dissect frogs and take field trips) and planning those field trips. Not to mention brainstorming what to do with the recalcitrant student that keeps my mind spinning all night. Isn’t that enough? And let’s not forget the money I spend from my own pocket to purchase supplies for special projects, snacks, pencils for birthdays, and decorations for my classroom. I figure I spend about $300.00 out of pocket for extras to supplement my student’s education. So don’t ask me for any more…

How about this as an idea? Start with those public servants who make more than $70,000 a year. (And a few of those are teachers). In the Salem-Keizer School District alone, there are more than 180 positions that are paid between $70,000 and $120,000. These include principals, vice principals, deputy superintendents, curriculum directors, the superintendent, even the supervisor of custodial services makes about $76,000 a year. Let’s have them give up five days of pay. Then we could go to the state; there are program directors, supervisors and managers who make more than $70,000. If you want to stay with educators, you could just go to the Department of Education, but I’m sure there are other departments at the state level with salaries over $70,000.

Then, how about going to the banks, auto manufacturers, and mortgage lenders and having their CEO’s give up their million dollar bonuses? Of course, they are private sector jobs, but aren’t they involved in this crisis, too?

If that doesn’t work for you, I will make you a deal. You sign an executive order that forgives all my college loans; donate the $2,000 I need yet in grants this year, to continue a program I started last year to purchase a book for every student in my school so they can start a home library; and promise our classified staff they won’t have to give up any pay (they make less than I do and have already been told they will have to give up days), then I will give you five days of my pay. But, I think you would have to make deals with every other teacher in Oregon. How much extra time do you have???

Cathe Pearson, Oregon Teacher