TEACHERS: The pay predicament

A Time Magazine article this week concerns teacher pay, and they insist that teachers are seriously underpaid.

One teacher makes only $73,000 a year. She says that she and her 10-year-old live in a one-bedroom apartment that costs almost $1,100 a month. They still share a bed.

Now $73,000 a year is just over $6,000 a month. Take away the $1,100 for rent and that leaves you about $4,900 a month for food, car, etc. With careful planning, she could live on $1,000 a month and save more than $3,000.

Several years ago, someone did a survey in which they asked if teachers were paid enough. Most everyone said they should be paid more. Then they were told how much teachers were actually paid and they agreed that teachers were paid more than enough.

Lots of people live well on $20,000 a year. They are happy and raise a family. So what is the difference? Planning!

One thing is clear: if anything, teachers are overpaid. Remember they often work less than 8 hours a day, and only 10 months a year, so it is hard to compare them with other workers with the same training and experience.

Quality education can take place for a lot less cost. Good teachers live well on less than $30,000 a year.

Let us reward teachers for what they do, but let us not pay them more than they could earn in the private sector. In Idaho, education is 64 percent of the budget. Time for some adjustment.

JIM HOLLINGSWORTH

Hayden