Reform education pay

Allow me to add another dimension to teacher salaries regarding Bonnie Lesley’s excellent Feb. 7 guest column in the Tribune-Herald on educational funding.

During the time that teachers attend professional development sessions, formulate individual student educational focus or even tend to sick family members or their own illnesses, a substitute for that teacher becomes necessary. Ideally, that substitute will offer continuity of training and approximate the absent teacher’s level of professionalism. The substitute also must be able to present lesson plans and set a mature and safe example for students.

A substitute teacher with a four-year college degree working at Midway Independent School District earns $65 per day before taxes.

Recently I learned in a conversation with a defense attorney that he is paid $125 per hour for a court appointment to represent a single defendant. Attorneys qualified for court appointment to appellate cases can earn considerably more.

Those costs add to the cost of custody per prisoner (in 2008, the cost was $70.75 per day per federal prisoner) for those defendants whose cases are on appeal. Comparatively, the salary of the most capable full-time classroom teacher at Midway — with 34-plus years of experience — is capped at $53,300 a year for 2009 and 2010.

How much better could we fare as taxpayers if funding priorities were shifted into the classroom?

Teachers help our youth and can deter some from future criminal behavior through their positive influence. I suggest that teachers can be a vitally important link in preventing budding criminality from becoming a lifestyle.

Doubt it? Think back upon those people who have given you direction. Any teachers or coaches come to mind?

Contact your legislators and ask them to fund education at the level equal to its importance.

Lynn Brown

Lorena

Gays in the military

I will rupture a blood vessel if I don’t comment on William Rice’s Feb. 8 letter about gays in the military.  I’m assuming Rice is old school because he references himself as “an old destroyer sailor.” He also said he wasn’t homophobic.

It’s homophobic to worry about a gay man seeing your privates in the shower. Gay is not a synonym for predator. Gays and lesbians do not have different physical requirements to serve in the military. Gays and lesbians cannot be allergic to bee stings or overweight or underweight and serve.

When will the bigots in this country stop complaining about being asked to be politically correct?

Karen Bell

Hewitt

It’s cold this winter

I have been hearing a lot of discord that the Oncor smart meters are defective, resulting in a lot of people getting some superhigh bills for the past month. Let me make those folks feel a little better:

For December, I was billed 936 kilowatt hours ($94.45). For January, I was billed for 3,910 kilowatt hours ($375.93). I looked at my old-timey meter and, sure enough, the hour usage is right. It was cold last month.

I’m going to turn down my thermostat a few degrees and put on another blanket at night.

Scott Young

Axtell