Comments

No way wrote on Oct 16, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Vote No!!! This is alot of smoke and mirrors! The teachers are NOT the only employees in the Safford school district. They need to take off the rose colored glasses and let the public know just how low they pay their maintenance, custodians, busdrivers, etc. Then they wonder why they can't keep or attract anyone for these jobs?! "




i say no wrote on Oct 15, 2008 9:13 PM:

" I will not vote for this. We should demand exactly what and how much money will be spent. This gives a wide swipe as to how SUSD will use our hard earned tax money. I looked at my tax bill and almost half of it already goes to Safford Schools. My vote is no "




wasteful wrote on Oct 15, 2008 8:42 AM:

" Our teachers need to be paid more, and they need the resources to TEACH as well. I doubt the $ of the override would actually go to the teachers anyway, Look at the Safford Arts Center...Does anyone use it? That was a bunch of money to build and more to run! Look at the climbing walls and other PE structures built by Safford Schools I have yet to see the PE classes use them...Stop pooping the money off to useless projects and pay our Teachers!(Yeah, yeah, M & O funds are different...why it's all school money? "




Lesson Time wrote on Oct 14, 2008 10:59 AM:

" To my earlier critic, I suggest a reading comprehension refresher, I never made any judgment statement regarding the teachers in our valley in my previous posting.

But I will state that we have here those I would consider "teachers" as well as those I might consider "educators". This is the case in most schools anywhere. What I have observed in my experience with the educational profession is that often its the "educators" who eventually become "administrators" - with the resulting loss in outcomes. "




confused wrote on Oct 14, 2008 7:27 AM:

" I was and still am amazed at the way a child from lets say Cambodia who came over to America and doesn't speak English and gets throwed into the public school system, and turns into a lawyer, nurse or doctor from the same system our children learned from, NO to more money, and kick the bureaucrates out and let the teachers have that money.Teachers have their hands full, and deserve a lot more, but raising our taxes isn't the answer. "




tax payer wrote on Oct 13, 2008 7:55 PM:

" SUSD might not be raising your taxes to fund their override, but they are not lowering our taxes when they should to help out people who's assessed values went up. SUSD has over $4 million in cash and still they will not lower the tax rate. I encourage everyone to vote NO on the override until SUSD can do what is right by our community. There are a lot of homeowners that can not afford the increase assessed valuation taxes and so it would be a good gesture for SUSD to lower their taxes. "




Lesson Time Needs a Lesson wrote on Oct 13, 2008 1:28 PM:

" I challenge you to visit the classrooms in our Gila Valley Schools and see the quality Teachers we have. Will you find individuals that fall into your catagory? I say yes you will, but that is not the norm as the majority of our Teachers are making our childrens educational experience one that developes a love of learning. I agree more money will not change the outcome because our teachers will continue to work above and beyond to help their students achieve. Looking in this weeks paper I'd say our children are doing great as they continue to improve daily. "




Lesson Continued wrote on Oct 13, 2008 12:49 PM:

" Until you elect school boards who focus on real solutions, and hire superintendents who create solutions with real outcomes, people like Mark T. will continue slipping dollars out of your pockets and telling you they need more to produce less.

Only the SUSD Board didn't change their property tax rate this year, which means that next year you're taxes will jump and the District needs your vote to OK spending the coming windfall.

Its up to you. What you hear from the local radio station is pure propaganda for Mark T. "




Lesson time voters wrote on Oct 13, 2008 12:45 PM:

" More money doesn't buy better outcomes no matter how much you spend.

"educators" are *not* teachers, they simply process an end product of a system.

"teachers" *are* rare and professional. They inflame a child's love for learning no matter what resources are available and no matter what the subject is.

"administrators" are bureaucrats of middle management and will *always* whine about more money from the taxpayer.

Solution: Combine all school districts in Graham County into one consolidated district with a single administrative overhead cost.

The savings realized would fund good teacher salaries. "




JARAM wrote on Oct 13, 2008 12:19 PM:

" REMEMBER TO BE RESPECTFUL!!! Mr.T wants to be Dr.T!!! "




Money wrote on Oct 13, 2008 8:22 AM:

" Where will the money come from for the salary increase. Ads say no raise in taxes. I am in favor of the salary increase for the teacher but not the adiministation. Mr. T gets around $200,000 when you count salary, health care, car expense, all dues paid for professional organization and many more.
Also Safford needs a new fire station. What would be wrong with closing off 7th Street and building next to the present fire station. City council needs to ask the citizens their opinion not just go buy land down by Thatcher "




GILA VALLEY wrote on Oct 12, 2008 8:20 PM:

" A beginning teacher in the Gila Valley make approximately $27,000 per year. "




Salaries wrote on Oct 12, 2008 7:08 PM:

" My late husband was a school administrator and he always said the highest paid teacher should be the first and second grade teachers for they are the ones who teach/taught the student how to read and then salaries go down from there to the administrator who would get bottom salary. And the more degrees you have does not make you a better teacher. Teaching is born in the person not really taught. Tenure should also go out the door. "




JHINTON wrote on Oct 12, 2008 5:16 PM:

" That is 36% more than the average white collar worker. Meaning someone who has the same education.
Per hour pay is what every job is measured by, except teaching. We must compare apples to apples. It also is not a fact that increased teacher pay leads to improved student performance.
I know that I will receive the same ridicule given to the magician who reveals how the rabbit is pulled from the hat. So be it. Read the truth for yourself. Go to www.EducationNews.org. Become "




JHINTON wrote on Oct 12, 2008 4:59 PM:

" Where is this money to come from? If indeed, no taxes will be increased, then what existing budget will be cut in order to fund this?
I used to teach school; I have many friends and family that still teach. I know that I’ll be considered a traitor by some, however, it is a myth that teachers are under paid. The US Bureau of Labor statistics states that the average teacher earned over $34/hour in 2005. That is 36% more than the average white collar worker. Meaning someone who has the sam "




JHINTON wrote on Oct 12, 2008 4:54 PM:

" I agree with ‘Teacher Lover’. Teacher are good people. The money spent on schools should be better allocated. Those at the administrative levels are grossly over paid, at the expense of those below them, and this includes the children in those schools. This inequity needs to be fixed first.
The editor’ story would have you believe that the funds required to increase this pay raise will magically appear with just your circling “YES’. Where is this money to come from? If indeed, no taxes wi "




Teachers salaries wrote on Oct 11, 2008 10:29 AM:

" When I started teaching I got $1,900 per year. I bought a new car and home, raised a family. After about 15 years I was making lots of money $8000. By the time I retired I was making $35000, big bucks. Many schools start their salaries at about $35000 now but look at the cost of living. No wonder the good teachers many of them choose to leave the teaching profession for better pay. Dedicated teacher stay and some teachers stay because they could not go anywhere else, we all know them. "




My degree wrote on Oct 10, 2008 9:39 PM:

" I went to college same number of years as my friend, I became a school teacher (my choice) and my first salary was for $9,000. My friend who went a different direction his first salary was for $23,000. When I retired I was making $33,000, he retired about the same time and was making right at $100,000. I influenced the minds of about 27,000 young people and he played with chemicals to make a plastic, which he never did improve on what we had. Who had the more important job? "




To Dubious wrote on Oct 9, 2008 2:09 PM:

" These special people we call Teachers have been to school and earned a 4 year degree. It does not stop there as they are required to have a Masters degree within 5 years of graduation. Teachers are also required to pick up 180 professional hours before they can renew their certificate. As far as Test scores our area schools are way better than most in the state and they work hard to show improvement each year. A teacher deserves more than $28,000 a year for the time, work, and effort they put into their jobs. "




Use Your Head wrote on Oct 9, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Teachers are a cornerstone of our society. You are right when you say we have quality teachers in this area. The problem is when we have one of these quality teacers retire or move from the valley it is difficult to replace them with the same qualities. We need to up the pay for these "Professionals" who have devoted their lives to helping our children. I believe you are being alittle hard on administration because these men and women work very hard with our children as well. Average 9 vs 12 months plus 301 money for teachers. It's pretty close. "




dubious wrote on Oct 9, 2008 7:48 AM:

" Same ole story we've been hearing for decades. Give us more money and we'll do a better job of educating your children. Sounds good, but the test scores seem to trend in the opposite direction as the spending. If money was the answer, Washington DC would be ranked near the top in education rather than near or at the bottom. "




TEACHER LOVER wrote on Oct 8, 2008 11:54 AM:

" While I totally agree with the override I must take exception to your comment about attracting quality teachers. This Valley has quality teachers already they just need to be paid what they are worth. How about we knock off some of the top heavy administration salaries and pay the people who are actually doing the work with our children. "