School board, we have a problem: woefully low salaries

Manatee School Board, we have a problem. Are you aware that every day in Manatee County schools, there are a number of classrooms with no teacher because there is a woeful shortage of substitutes?

Do you realize that several days a week, families are getting recorded messages that their child’s bus will be late because there are not enough drivers? Do you understand that many of our cafeteria workers, custodians and clerical staff must work two jobs to try to feed their families?

I know one teacher who had surgery and should have recovered at home for a few weeks, but because she had no sub for her classes, she felt compelled to return to work. There isn’t a day that goes by that teachers are not being asked to forfeit their planning periods to cover classes without teachers. This means for that day, they cannot grade papers, return parent phone calls or plan lessons.

I am a retired educator, but I drive to Sarasota to sub because there I earn $129 a day, compared to $89 a day in Manatee County. Would you teach six or seven classes a day if you brought home $60?

As the county’s largest employer, are you unaware of what’s happening in the trenches or is it you just don’t care? Most employees would never go outside the chain of command and complain to you directly. So how are you monitoring what’s really happening? Is your only feedback filtered through those who work in district offices?

Do you get that morale is at an all-time low because teachers and staff are woefully underpaid and they do not feel valued? Good luck getting even your own employees to vote for more taxes. Many of these good people have no trust in how money has already been spent.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 11:23 AM with the headline "School board, we have a problem: woefully low salaries."