Dear NC Legislators & Gov. Perdue -

Dear Elected Officials,
It has now been 3 years since I've seen an increase in my paycheck.  In that time, I've watched gas prices climb. The cost of groceries has crept up steadily. My health insurance co-pays have doubled while my coverage has decreased. I've sent one child to college and another to preschool.  And still my salary has not increased.

The number of duties I have been required to do at school has increased to pick up the slack from those who are no longer with us.  My out of pocket expenses for supplies for my students and my classroom has risen because the school budget has been slashed.  I have had to take personal leave and sick days to attend required staff development to keep my teaching license current.  And still my salary has not increased.

I have worked 9, 10, 11 and 12 hour days.  I have worked on Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons, Thursday nights and countless evenings after school.  I have given up my personal planning time to meet with parents, attend district trainings, Professional Learning Community meetings, IEP meetings, and Team Meetings.  And still my salary has not increased.  

I have poured my heart and my soul into making meaningful and relevant lessons to my middle school students.  I have conducted research to bring in the best resources for my gifted students.  I have worked with Exceptional Children teachers to modify curriculum for my challenged learners.  I have schooled myself to meet the needs of my English Language Learners.  I have practically danced on my head to keep my children's spirits high as the number of standardized testing days climb and their morale plummets.  And still my salary has not increased.

I've heard people say that I should be lucky to have a job, and indeed, I do feel fortunate not to have to worry as much as those in the private sector.  I've been told that teachers are spoiled, and that we don't work over the summer, so we need to just hush about the disparity of pay.  I've tried to be a team player; to accept that we all have to do our part in lean times.  But today, I came to a realization.

I am not being paid what I am worth because the contribution I make is not valued by my state lawmakers.

I've heard the lip service and the posturing from both sides of the aisle.  I've heard the sound bites where our officials talk about how important public education is to the future of North Carolina.  But I don't think I believe a word of it.  Because in this world, we vote with our dollars.  We appropriate money to the issues and areas that we feel are most valuable.  And following that logic, teachers are simply not valuable to you.  If we were, you would not have adjusted the state teachers' salary schedule down for three consecutive years to effectively freeze teacher salaries.

This realization breaks my heart.  It's especially upsetting because I have seen first hand how a good teacher can turn the tide in a child's life.  I've seen my colleagues' hands gently steer a child from the path toward jail to the one that leads to college.  I've seen how our efforts have ignited the spark of hope in children that society would just as soon give up on.

I'm not ready to give up just yet.

But please know that your constituents --and your workforce -- are feeling extremely under-valued right now.  We cannot continue to "do more with less."  We are tapped out.  I implore you to show that you value the essential work that we do.  Do not let YET ANOTHER year go by without giving teachers their earned step increases.  Show that you recognize that without good teachers, the future of our state will be bleak indeed.

Thank you,
RhondaK, MAEd, NBCT
Durham, NC