Washtucna teachers deserve better

Back in 2007, when I was a first-year teacher in California, I made about $39,500. That was over 10 years ago.

When I started at Washtucna two years ago, I made close to the same amount.

From my basic fundamental understanding of how the new state funding plan works, instead of an overall pay scale, each district now is responsible for negotiating the salary for its teachers.

How each district does that is up to their union’s reps or administrations.

It’s come to light in the past few days that many districts are in heated discussions about sorely needed pay raises for each of its teachers. Certain wise unions and school boards have concluded and bargained that their teachers truly deserve a greater piece of the pie for their hard work.

In a smaller district such as Washtucna, it’s my opinion that teachers have to work even harder for the same pay that their counterparts in larger metropolitan areas receive.

Examples include but are not limited to: dealing with students without adequate behavioral specialists (this was at the time of my tenure), making do with less resources and thus putting in more personal time procuring such resources etc.

And for those teachers who have put in almost 30 years of their lives teaching for the same district, their pay was capped at year 16 or thereabouts.

As of last weeks S-R headline, those teachers could be making as much as a few thousand to 15k or more a year if they were in another district. I feel it was an opportunity for Washtucna to truly show how much they value their teachers’ hard work, and that opportunity was missed.

Those who are responsible for the lowest teacher pay in the state; they should be ashamed for their poor negotiating skills and stingy-ness. It is nothing short of appalling.

Morgan W. Wade, Spokane, WA