Is It Worth It?

The article, Teacher raises to come from wishful thinking, was probably written by the Editorial Board because it is “unsigned.” It is posted on Star-Telegram and was published on July 16^th, 2012. The author discusses the issue on paying the public schoolteachers more for their work and effort. Several weeks ago, Fort Worth district leaders insinuated that teacher raises isn’t an option with current budget. The trustees voted against this idea as well. However, the administrators requested a one-time one percent raise for all full-time employees. Then, the author lists the possible sources of funds and grants suggested by credible political figures. The author provided numerous quotes by political figures and statistics in order to increase the credibility in his writing. The author believes it is not the right thing for the state to use that much money on a one-percent raise in economical hardship. Overall, his/her writing has credibility, and although his/her opinion leans to one side, the tone is formal.

 

I agree with him completely in that the state should try to save as much money as possible in economically hard times. The state has more important issues to invest the five million dollars on. Some of the suggestions Hank Johnson, the Deputy Superintendent of Finance, made were to spend 300,000 dollars less on substitute teachers and 200,000 dollars less on overtime, according to the author. This is unreasonable. The state should not punish the substitute teachers and overtime workers to reward full-time teachers; the latter have steady income while the substitute teachers usually do not. Other suggestions do not sound very convincing either; most of the suggestions produce victims. Giving a one-time one-percent raise is insignificant, and is simply a sign of appreciation. The state does not have to spend 5 million dollars just to show appreciation. Doing so would cause many agitated citizens. If this really is an important matter, the state should find ways to achieve the goal with less cost. In this “one of the toughest financial situations we’ve been in,” we need to save every penny we can, and use it wisely.

David Song