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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

One Teacher's Perspective: Thank You, Taxpayers, and You're Welcome

One Teacher's Perspective: Thank You, Taxpayers, and You're Welcome:


Thank You, Taxpayers, and You're Welcome

Professional educatorKevin Diece, from nearby Fort Atkinson, WI, steps in as guest blogger thisweek. The following posting is an adaptation of Diece’s Letter to the Editor published in April of 2011 in the DailyJefferson County Union.

As a Tax Day tribute, thank you taxpayers for funding public education. Likewise, you’re welcome for theimportant and professional service provided our communities by professionaleducators across Wisconsin.
    
Sadly, the taxpayer-teacher symbiosis is muddied by conservativethink tanks continually misleading many taxpayers tobelieve that professional teachers make too much.

The propaganda promoting this falsehood compares teacher salariesto those who do not have the same level of education attainment (degrees) thatteachers do. My salary is approximately $55,000. To earn that salary, I havetaught 13 years, obtained a bachelor’s degree, a master’s