Letter: Teacher pay suggestions would cause problems

 

To the Editor:

On Dec. 9, the Worthington News published three letters relating to the question of the compensation of teachers in the Worthington City School District.

While agreeing that the fiscal problems faced by the district are closely linked to that item, I found two of the letters long on theory and, while offering apparently attractive answers, they ignore reality. While the policies indicated by board member Marc Schare might serve to improve test scores, it is difficult to see how they would result in substantial savings.

On the other hand, regarding Guy Molde's letter, in which it is suggested that reductions in teacher compensation be equal to those suffered in the private sector, I believe that it is important to note that the reductions in the private sector are the result of a reduction in demand for goods and services. There is no such reduction in education. While there will be a temporary shift in demand at any given level, the overall demand remains fairly static -- decrease at the middle-high school, increase in elementary. Where there have been decreases in demand, there have been decreases in personnel.

Mr. Molde answers the contention that good teachers and administrators would leave should his suggestions be implemented by asking, "Where would they go?" This indicates to me that he is not aware of the market in Central Ohio.

While it is true that there is a glut of young and inexperienced -- and thus less expensive -- teachers, Worthington is surrounded by growing school districts (Olentangy, Dublin, Hilliard) that would jump at the opportunity to hire middle career experienced teachers and administrators. Thus the Worthington district would stand to lose that cohort that is most important for the future. That is even more important for teachers in difficult-to-fill specialties such as math, science, special education and some languages.

Similar considerations apply to John Toth's suggestion for a two-year salary and step freeze. Since teachers get no significant step increases after 15 years in the system, and since the average tenure in the Worthington system is longer than that (19 years), the step freeze would affect the young and mid-career teachers. Having this cohort go to other and growing districts would further skew the district toward older teachers with higher salaries and health care requirements.

Abramo Ottolenghi