Profession tarnished

The letter to the editor below appeared in the Northwest Herald and can be accessed by clicking on the title above. Bravo to Bill for speaking up. As long as public school teachers support unions that refuse accountability they are a part of the problem and not the solution. We have had three generations of uneducated or undereducated children graduating our K -12 system. With billions of dollars wasted annually on inefficient school systems it is time for parents, business owners and taxpayers to speak up to the injustice to so many generations of children. Results of our poor public school systems are billions of dollars spent annually on remedial education in higher education, social welfare programs and penal systems.

Profession tarnished

[published on Tue, Jan 10, 2006]

To the Editor:

Public schools are a disgrace.

School boards, administrators and teachers have taken the once proud profession of educator and created a cancer that's draining society.

Eighty percent of property taxes go to education, and as property values skyrocket, actual tax dollars skyrocket, too. Public grade schools now charge tuition.

The largest general expense the state pays is education. That's before considering the teachers retirement fund shortage that's larger than the whole state budget.

Small-town superintendents earn more than the governor, but threaten program cuts to be fiscally responsible.

They conveniently forget fiscal responsibility while negotiating contracts with the already bankrupt schools.

They also forget to mention large raises when they sell referendums. How about our wonderful teachers hoisting picket signs because they're insulted by offers of only 6 percent annual raises. It's despicable the way they hold our children's education hostage. Their mantra, "It's for the kids." What a joke.

I'm pro-education. That's why I'm outraged our taxes go to fund their greed instead of educating our children.

We've already paid and borrowed all we can to satisfy your never-ending extortion. We will not let you raise taxes. Education has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.


Bill Russin
Richmond