I'm a career switcher in my seventh year teaching ESOL and US History in Prince William. I earned a good income for 30 years before I became a teacher and my kids have finished college. Even so, remaining as a teacher is a real financial hardship. I can't begin to think how a person can support a family in this job. We're being asked to accept a real-income pay cut for the 4th straight year. This is unacceptable.
I enjoy the challenge of teaching and I have enjoyed my years in Prince William. Most teachers I know love the job. But even teachers who love their job are facing basic decisions like: should I continue teaching or would I like to own a house someday? Should I keep teaching, or do I want my kids to go to college?
Every year teachers are asked to do more uncompensated work and spend more uncompensated time on the job. We deserve better than a county school system that says “Oh well, I don't think the county's going to give you a pay raise again this year -- or next year -- or the next."
As long as our school system, Board of Education, Board of Supervisors, and state legislature continue to underfund education and treat teachers with disrespect, more and more good teachers will leave the profession. Prince William County Schools' "World Class Education" slogan will become meaningless if the exodus of teaching talent continues.
Leon Reed
Woodbridge
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