So is this what awaits me when I become a teacher?
My town of Porterville is divided into two major school districts, the Porterville Unified and the Burton School District. Porterville Unified is the bigger district with most schools located on the central and eastside of town (generally, the poor side of Porterville) while the Burton School District is located in the westside of town (mostly middle/upper class side of town). Currently, the Burton Elementary Teacher’s Association (BETA) is demanding that the Burton School District pay their teachers the same as their counterparts at the Porterville Unified School District. According to the Teacher’s Association, the teachers at Porterville Unified earn 12% more than those at Burton. Furthermore, Burton teachers have not received a salary increase since the 2001-2002 school year. What is most frustrating of this situation is that the Burton teachers simply want to earn the same as their counterparts which to me is very fair. Is that too much to ask for? It makes no sense whatsoever since Burton schools are primarily in the middle/upper class areas of Porterville and the school district is in good financial health. For example, BETA states that “Cumulatively, over the last five years, Burton teachers have received a 15.72% increase in salary while the district superintendent has received a 51.06% increase in salary.” How is this possible? What’s next? the privatization of schools? BETA argues that what ends up happening is that experienced teachers that start their careers at Burton end up leaving for better paying positions at other school districts because the Burton school district refuses to compromise on some of BETA’s labor demands. The teaching profession is not respected at all. Since when is $36,000 a living wage in California? Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t decide to become a teacher to make millions. That is not what drives me. But is it fair that in some cases principals make twice as much as you while school superintendents make easily three times what the average teacher makes. The educational system in California is broken and politicos like the actor that is playing governor and Dubya in the white house are doing nothing.
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