I have the pleasure of volunteering one day a week at Mesa Elementary School and am continually amazed at how dedicated the teaching staff is. They perform miracles on a daily basis with their students. These marvelous people deserve our respect and admiration. They also deserve to earn a livable salary that is commensurate with the level of education they are required to have.

Teachers are professionals who spend four to eight years pursuing college degrees to be the best that they can be in their career. They do not volunteer to teach for a salary that is non-negotiable.

I don’t know a single teacher who puts in a 40-hour week. All teachers spend hours outside the classroom attending meetings, preparing lesson plans, grading papers, attending special workshops, working after hours to help needy students and then taking more classes during the summer in order to keep their licenses. Many teachers have to work a second job in order to support their families.

Teachers are among the few professionals I know of who have to rely for their salaries on property taxes.

If medical doctors had to depend on that system of payment and teachers were allowed to charge per hour, that just might be a solution to our current dilemma.

Terri HelmCortez