To the editor:
Three years ago, I received a mailing from my legislator. It began “Indiana’s transportation infrastructure touches every sector of our economy and drives economic development.” It went on to talk about the need to improve our roads and bridges, etc., concluding by saying that “Road funding is a top priority in 2016 because an investment in roads is an investment in our future.” During Pothole Season, we have little doubt to the truth of these statements.
As a public school teacher, I found it interesting that the same statements could be made of our public school system. It, too, has been neglected for too long. The ramifications aren’t seen by the public so easily as potholes and rusty trusses. The effects may take decades to notice, as our penal system becomes overcrowded by citizens who find they cannot live on an income earned by honest living. They turn to drugs as an escape, then to crime to feed their habit.
This ends up costing taxpayers much more than the cost of education. Not that education can erase all crime and drug use, but it does give a person a fighting chance to make a living and rise above the temptation to escape their reality.
I applaud the fact that Indiana has been successful in keeping their books balanced and has not needed to borrow money as some states have in the last decade. However, it hasn’t been without cost as we see roads, bridges, and schools not being kept up. Human resources have been neglected as well. A friend told me years ago that I could expect my salary to increase so as to double three times. For me that meant I would end my career with a salary of $84,000. In 1998-99 I reached the top of our school’s pay scale, making $44,852. Over the next decade I averaged 3 percent per year in raises, even though I only received what was bargained — no automatic increases for years of service. With a salary of $60,434, I was poised to reach that end if my raises continued.
Then came the economic downturn of 2008. The state tightened its belt and cut funding increases. Recovery has hit every sector of the economy for the last 8 years — except for my small school corporation and many like it. I’ve averaged only 0.5 percent per year the last decade and have a current salary of $63,600, far below what I was expecting as I near retirement.
Please don’t think I’m bitter. I give you the facts and figures only to illustrate my point. Teachers have been the scapegoats for the ills of society for too long and that concerns me more than providing for my needs in retirement.
I hope the next communication I receive from my legislator reads, “Indiana’s public education system touches every sector of our economy and drives economic development. Public school funding is a top priority in 2019 because an investment in schools is an investment in our future.”
David Bauman
Edinburgh
