I appreciated (letter-writer) Mr. Sawchuk’s economics lesson but he did not mention that teachers are also taxpayers. One of the “benefits” of having a higher income is that you are entitled to pay more in taxes.
My husband has been teaching for over 20 years. I checked the before and after tax totals on a monthly paycheque and just shy of 40 per cent is deducted for taxes, etc. Teachers are paid over a 10-month period and so the after-tax money is stretched over 12 months.
Teachers also spend money on their classrooms and students to provide a more enriching and enjoyable environment. This money is not reimbursed or tax-deductible.
I did check out the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment in communities comparable to Abbotsford (Cambridge, Ontario & Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) and they are similar in cost. Vancouver/Toronto was a different story. One-bedrooms were usually $300-$500 cheaper in Toronto and two bedrooms were $500+ cheaper.
A standard teaching workday is 7.5 hours. The school is open for 8 to 8.5 hours. Time is spent at home marking, prepping (even in the summer), and many teachers spend time coaching, chaperoning or working on things like the yearbook. The only two school events (grad, etc.) my husband has missed in all of his years teaching were because I was giving birth!
These hours, and the time away from their families, don’t seem to be taken into account by many who refer to short work days, weeks off, etc.
Teachers are paid a yearly salary and not an hourly wage. If they were, the public might just wish they weren’t.
Anita Thompson