Letters: My teachers mean a lot to me. Why aren't they paid more?
I am sure I speak for many of my fellow students when I say that teachers are among the most valuable people in my life. Why are they paid so little?
In the South Bend Community School Corp., starting teacher pay is $42,000-$44,000. This is drastically low for a job requiring at minimum a four-year degree. It is $20,000 under the average starting pay for someone just finishing a four-year degree. The average high school teacher in Indiana has a class size of 24 students an hour, about six hours of classes and many extra hours spent on grading and helping students.
Indiana had a $6 billion budget surplus this year and is predicted to see another one in the coming year. The governor decided to give $225 back to every Hoosier. This might seem like a good idea, but we need to invest more in the next generation. I propose that we use our next budget surplus to increase teacher pay and make the next generation of Hoosiers smarter workers and better citizens.
Aaron Diller
Student, John Adams High School
South Bend
Not helpful
State Sen. Linda Rogers has an internet ad that says, “Linda Rogers. For Growth. For Small Business. Helping them survive, grow and create more jobs.” It’s too bad she doesn’t have that same regard for the rest of her constituents. Like the pregnant women seeking workplace accommodations against whom she voted. Or the teachers who are leaving classrooms in droves because they are poorly paid and grossly disrespected by Republican legislators. Or law enforcement officers and members of the clergy who opposed permitless carry that passed with Rogers’ vote. Or the many women in Indiana, including 2,000 Republicans, who feel that the near total abortion ban is extreme government overreach and bad business.
I’m voting for Melinda Fountain for Senate District 11. Fountain prioritizes people. She supports providing workplace accommodations for pregnant women and access to quality childcare. She respects educators and will invest in them. She is endorsed by Moms Demand Action and will work with law enforcement to reduce gun violence. And she trusts women to make their own decisions about their reproductive health care. Let’s send Mindy to Indy. For Growth. For Hoosiers. Helping them flourish, grow and create a better Indiana.
Cheryl Snay
Granger
Vote Steury
Jack Colwell is a South Bend institution. The Tribune is lucky to have him. But he too often gives us the conventional wisdom. Case in point: his recent column saying Republican Second District congressional candidate Rudy Yakym was prudent in dodging the Oct. 4 debate, and that Democrat Paul Steury and Libertarian William Henry “have already lost” the debate by not waging a debate over Yakym's failure to respond to the invitation to debate.
Paul Steury, who grew up in the Mennonite and Brethren churches, lives by Jesus’ Second Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. He’s not one to go for the jugular. Maybe that’s the kind of person we need in Congress. He’s for a clean environment, health care for all, and a woman’s right to control her own body.
Yakym, on the other hand, won’t tell us what he’s for, except to wrap himself in the mantles of the late Jackie Walorski and former president Donald Trump. From this, we can only surmise he will support welfare for the rich, government shutdowns and the fossil fuel industry.
Another longtime Indiana columnist, Brian Howey, wrote that candidates who duck the debates “should choose another line of work.” Hoosiers can and should buck the conventional wisdom and elect Paul Steury to Congress.
Stephen Wylder
Elkhart
Secure elections
St. Joseph County Elections are safe and transparent. The St. Joseph County Election Board has a longstanding history of safely and accurately administering elections. This remains true today. Citizens can be assured that our Election Board is focused on a free and fair election, and according to Indiana state law.
I have worked the polls and Central Count for many years and I attend Election Board meetings. I can 100% verify that our elections are administered on a fair and bipartisan process.
To those that fear your vote will not count, please reconsider. There is nothing rotten in St. Joseph County elections.
Return your completed absentee ballot so it arrives at the Election Board before Nov. 8 by 6 p.m. Or vote early. Or Vote on Nov. 8 at any vote center. But vote.
Voting is your voice and your responsibility as a citizen. Visit www.indianavoters.com for more info.
Pam Claeys
South Bend
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana teachers deserve a bigger paycheck
