Clay schools

Clay County teachers will get a 3 percent pay hike next year. That weekly increase will disappear as soon as our teachers pump the 13th gallon into their tank. Still, every little bit helps members of the underpaid profession, and new teachers will start out making $37,800 annually. Or roughly 6 or 7 thousand bucks less than our least-compensated County Commissioners will make beginning in November.

Voters might decide to cut BCC salaries to a flat 37K, which means new teachers and Commissioners will be taking home very similar paychecks. So, how else do the two jobs compare?

Okay, you asked for it, Solo, but I'm starting my own blog entry so as not to feel guilty for standing on the soap box in yours. You posed the question about schools, and I’m going to try to reply as calmly as possible without whining or curling into a fetal position.

My background: I have taught 6th graders through adults, ESOL to gifted,  in both Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) and North Florida. I took a pay cut and left the public high school system a few years back. This was strictly a quality of life decision. I like teaching and interacting with my students constructively, and I hate mountains of paperwork and rigidly timed schedules.