Kicked It In The Sun: The Cabin Fever Blog Site: Teacher salaries are not funded equally within each district in our state.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Anonymous said...: I have a comment: teacher salaries in Washington public schools are fucked up. In fact, Washington public schools are... fucked up. The fact that districts are not funded equally is the least of Washington's problems, and our legislators ought to quit wasting everyone's time allocating a few thousand dollars here and a few thousand dollars there. Take the bull by the horns. And then do it across the US. Here's what needs to happen:

1) Increase salaries by 10%/year every year for the next 5 years, adjusted for inflation and cost of living increases. Good teachers deserve good pay. Bad teachers... (see below)

2) Give merit-based raises to good teachers. Fire bad ones. Hire good principals who can manage people, manage a budget, and understand how to give merit-based raises and when teachers need to be fired. If you commit to 10%/year for 5 years, the union shouldn't be a problem.

3) Cut classroom sizes across the board by 10%/year for 3 years. After that, no more than 12 kids in an elementary school classroom and no more than 16 in middle school or 20 high school.

Part 2... later, when I have time to do the research: how much this will cost and how that compares to other expenses.; 10:32 PM