I am a teacher. I have been teaching since 1980. I have a master's degree, two credentials, three certificates and vast training experiences.

I have seen many of the students who have passed through my classrooms become successful at whatever they have chosen to do. I have been dedicated to my craft and have experienced joy in what I chose as a profession. Today, I no longer have that joy or desire. Education has become a sad place. Districts have no money and have made cuts and laid off good teachers.

Districts are being forced to cut days and teacher pay. This not only hurts teachers, it is also a crime against the children we are teaching. It is not about teacher salaries, but about the negative impact on the students.

Now the state wants to pass a bill that would take away teachers' rights to due process and protections against discrimination and unfair evaluation. The bill will not help solve any of the problems facing education today, but simply blames the teachers.

It would ignore teacher experience in the classroom when making layoffs and rehiring decisions and creates a system based on performance evaluations that may have not even been done for years. It would allow districts to fire employees for any reason, including for speaking out on student safety and employment issues. It gives principals the power to discriminate against older teachers, setting back hard-won protections against age discrimination. It would also

eliminate the notice to teachers subject to reductions in force and eliminate their right to request a hearing.