Educationally Speaking -- Gay Geiser-Sandoval

How much should the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s teachers

get paid? Some of you think teachers get paid too much because they get

the summer off. Some of you think teachers get paid too little since they

are entrusted with the education of those that are our future.

Whichever view you have, why do our district’s teachers deserve less

money than teachers in other parts of the county?

Teachers in South County start out making more, and continue making

more each year. So, while our teachers top out at $70,000 each year, a

teacher in the Capistrano Valley School District can make up to $80,000

each year. Starting salaries are up to $5,000 a year more at Orange

County schools outside Newport-Mesa.

In a time when teachers throughout Orange County are reaching

retirement age and need to be replaced in record numbers, the law of

supply and demand will not bode well for the future of the children in

this district.

For this school year, the district was recruiting an economics

teacher, which is not an easy thing to find. The applicant said he liked

this district, but accepting employment here would be a million-dollar

mistake. If he took the money that he could make at another district

compared to that he would make at Newport-Mesa, and invested it, the

difference could amount to $1 million over his career. So, being an

economics teacher and all, he couldn’t make that kind of mistake. He had

to look out for his family.

Teachers are the first to tell you that money isn’t everything. So, if

the district could offer pristine facilities, smaller student-to-staff

ratios, a student population without problems, and supportive parents,

then we might be able to get away with the salary differentiation. But,

our school facilities are in disrepair and we will ask our teachers to

live and teach through the remodeling phase in the next couple of years.

Our student-to-staff ratio is no better than neighboring districts. Many

students in the district don’t speak English and don’t always make it to

school. Some parents don’t necessarily check homework or promote reading.

Given these factors, we may need to offer a hiring bonus to even get

prospective teachers to fill out an application to work here.

While all types of teachers are needed to fill the numerous vacancies,

any district immediately snaps up those who can teach math, science and

technology. So, if a husband and wife with those skills left our district

for points south, they would receive an immediate $20,000 a year increase

in income. Let’s face it; would you stay?

So, when your child’s advanced placement score or SAT II score is

down, you can append a little note to his college application that the

district hired a brand new teacher with emergency credentials that didn’t

know about the subject. I’m sure the admissions officer at the college

will understand.

Teachers are in negotiations right now to see if this problem can be

fixed before it permanently affects the quality of our children’s

education. Stop the exodus of our current teachers and provide a

comparable salary scale to attract the best-qualified teachers to our

district. Contact your school board representative today.

***

A tinman has stolen my heart. Catch Costa Mesa High School’s

production of the Wizard of OZ on Friday at 7 p.m. or Sunday at 4 p.m.

It’s OZsome!

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs

Tuesdays. She may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].