A Comment Worthy Of A Post

I am also a County Employee (Not with the BOE) and I get paid to show up to work from 8:00 to 5:00 on 248 days (260 weekdays minus 12 holidays) in a year. Your wife works from August 13 to June 22 - approximately 10 months out of the year. That's 230 weekdays, but then when you take out all of the holidays off (ie. Winter Break, Spring Break, Thanksgiving Break, MLK Day, President's Day, Labor Day and Memorial Day-20 days total!) she actually only works 210 days out of the year! She also gets to dilly dally around on 5 days for "professional day" and attends a MSTA Conference for a day. Regardless of how she schedules her pay (10 months pay or annual pay) she gets the time off! According to the 2009-2010 Wicomico County Salary Schedule for Teachers, the lowest paid teachers receive $42,140 per year-I get paid a very similar amount with a bachelor's degree as well and I put in a lot more time over the course of a year.

I get weekends off as does she, but she get nearly 2 months off during the summer and the holidays that I do PLUS the extra days that the BOE gives the students off for those days. She may have to grade papers at night, but then at the same time they provide teachers with Planning Periods each day and the last time I checked, students get out of school at 3 and she should have about 2 extra hours each day to do the "extras" like grading papers. I too take home work, but that's just part of having a salaried career! This "above and beyond" BS doesn't cut it! Any good employee that is dedicated to their career, such as myself and your wife (as you tated), goes above and beyond-its what people who care do!

So let's break it down here...while our careers may not be the same we do get paid similar, we get paid by the same sources and we have a similar level of education. I work 50 more days than she does in a year and I don't get long extended breaks from work throughout the year. A lot of teachers do get a second job during their summer time off and can make $5,000 to $10,000 or more in additional income during that time. Me? I'm the one at work NON-STOP for the year! I'm the one that has to take furlough days while she and her co-workers got a raise this year. I'm the one who has to worry about having departmental budget cuts because the BOE can't curb frivolous spending during economic down times or any time for that matter! So what makes her so much more important? Oh that's right, she's a teacher-We have to do it for the teachers and the students! But when it hits the fan like it has been with snow removal from the roads (BTW I am NOT a roads employee) this week people are quick to blame the Roads Division for lack of effort! Try lack of money because the BOE porks it up each year and never performs the necessary cuts to rid the County's budget of some financial burdens!

I will bash the BOE and I will bash the teachers! Why? Because they are only looking out for #1 whenever it comes to sacrificing! Professional days? Please! How would your wife feel about having all five professional days during summer break? MSTA Convention could be held during the summer as well! If you all were really looking out for the children then you wouldn't be taking breaks from their education to do the things that could be done during the summer! Why not do professional days during the extend students holidays (like the Thursday before easter or the Wednesday before Easter) when students aren't in school but teachers would otherwise not have the day off if they were in any other career.

I don't want to hear and complaining from teachers OR their spouses-they have it easy enough as is! I say extend the school year into August if we have to-make the teachers actually work for their salaries!