Manatee County teachers deserve pay hike now

Shame on you, Manatee County School Board. You are withholding teachers’ raises because of the insurance situation!

These teachers deserve their raises now. Of course they did not approve the contract because of the insurance premiums.

There are other companies which perhaps would give you better rates.

My daughter is a single teacher, works two jobs, and has taught for 16 years. She needs that raise, as do all the others. Her raise should not be withheld to pay the insurance premiums of those with children and husbands on the contract.

She has neither! That is not fair at all. The whole situation is ridiculous.

Yet I hear you could find a $10,000 raise for the superintendent of schools. How nice.

Perhaps all the teachers should just walk out for a few weeks. I bet your phones would be blowing out the walls. Parents would even perhaps lose their jobs, and there would not be enough daycare facilities to take all the children. Not fair to the teachers, parents and children.

Wake up! Teachers are one of our greatest assets. Treat them as such.

This story was originally published December 10, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Manatee County teachers deserve pay hike now."