Professional educator
Kevin Diece, from nearby Fort Atkinson, WI, steps in as guest blogger this
week. The following posting is an adaptation of Diece’s Letter to the Editor published in April of 2011 in the Daily
Jefferson County Union.
As a Tax Day tribute, thank you taxpayers for funding public education. Likewise, you’re welcome for the
important and professional service provided our communities by professional
educators across Wisconsin.
Sadly, the taxpayer-teacher symbiosis is muddied by conservative
think tanks continually misleading many taxpayers to
believe that professional teachers make too much.
The propaganda promoting this falsehood compares teacher salaries
to those who do not have the same level of education attainment (degrees) that
teachers do. My salary is approximately $55,000. To earn that salary, I have
taught 13 years, obtained a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and 30
additional graduate credits. When comparing my salary to others, please take
some time to research those professions/careers that have the equivalent
degrees as I do.
Comprehensive research shows quite clearly that the pay of
professional educators (and other public employee professionals) is not excessive.
Some key findings from a study Comparing Public and Private Sector
Compensation over 20 Years found:
·
Jobs in the public sector typically require
more education than private sector positions. State and local employees are
twice as likely to hold a college degree or higher as compared to private
sector employees. Only 23 percent of private sector employees have completed
college, as compared to about 48 percent in the public sector.
·
Wages and salaries of state and local
employees are lower than those for private sector employees with comparable
earnings determinants, such as education and work experience. State
workers typically earn 11 percent less and local workers 12 percent less.
·
During the last 15 years, the pay gap has
grown: earnings for state and local workers have generally declined relative to
comparable private sector employees.
·
Even after accounting for the value of retirement,
health care, and other benefits, state and local employees still earn less than
their private sector counterparts do. On average, total compensation is 6.8
percent lower for state employees and 7.4 percent lower for local employees
than for comparable private sector employees.
Regardless of the pay discrepancy, teachers knew what they were
getting into regarding compensation. We knew we would not get rich, but that we
would be offered a benefit package that would offset our salary. Our Wisconsin
Retirement System (WRS), considered a model pension system by financial
experts, is a form of deferred compensation bargained for instead of
taking salary increases. Teachers also have negotiated to pay less of a
percentage of our insurance premiums as a tradeoff for lower salary increases.
Deceptively, Governor Walker likes to refer to our deferred
compensation (benefits) as entitlements. This brings up a good segue into the reality of who pays whose
salary. Last year alone, I paid for the salaries of the following local
employees: the local hardwood floor guy, everyone at Sentry, Pick ‘n Save,
Jimmy John’s, Subway, Ace Hardware, Fort Atkinson Park and Recreation
Department, School District of Fort Atkinson, Madison Area Technical College,
Blackhawk Fitness, Langer’s Trim and Style, Salamone’s, BP, Powers Tire and
Auto Service, Daily Jefferson County Union, U.S. Cellular, and the list goes on
and on. These are just a fraction of the local businesses/employees I support.
Looking across the state of Wisconsin, we could add Charter
Communications, We Energies, Wells Fargo, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Brewers, and again the list goes on and on.
You see, we all "scratch each other’s backs." When I go to the grocery store and pay for my goods, I help pay the salaries of the employees that work there. With my family losing $7000 to $8,000 of disposable income this year due to Gov. Walker’s budget-repair bill, I am not spending that money at these local businesses. What do you suppose my cut in pay will eventually do to all of the employees that work at these local businesses?
You see, we all "scratch each other’s backs." When I go to the grocery store and pay for my goods, I help pay the salaries of the employees that work there. With my family losing $7000 to $8,000 of disposable income this year due to Gov. Walker’s budget-repair bill, I am not spending that money at these local businesses. What do you suppose my cut in pay will eventually do to all of the employees that work at these local businesses?
So, for all of the taxpayers in my local community, I thank
you for paying my salary. On the flipside, you’re welcome, since I pay your
salary, too.
I encourage every taxpayer to keep an itemized list of how
you spend your money in the next year. After doing this, set those numbers next
to your tax bill and compare all of the numbers. I think you would be surprised
how those numbers compare to what you pay for taxes in regards to the local school
district portion. The money you spend on education seems like such a large
amount simply because it is summarized as a one-dollar value on your property
tax bill. If you spread that dollar amount out like your other expenses, it would
not seem like so much. Perhaps the State of Wisconsin needs to list everything
tax dollars pay for and the corresponding amount we pay for these services on
our property tax bill.
As a final Tax Day thought, it is important to remind Wisconsin
taxpayers that the attempts to link public educators and employees to the
state’s budget problems is just a ruse. Do you remember when teachers and
public employees crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401K’s, took
trillions in TARP money, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves
billions in bonuses, and paid no additional taxes?
Yeah, me neither.
Just like a teacher. Layout a well reasoned argument with facts, evidence and references. Please don't confuse me with the truth, my head hurts. Must be time to listen to Rush.
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