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I feel that the idea to raise teachers' starting salary to 40k is just about right. I think there are a lot of good teachers out there who lose a little ambition and motivation to be great because they are being slapped in the face with such a low salary.
I'm a substitute teacher in Portland now, and the only way I'm surviving is by living in a small apartment and riding a bike (I don't own a car) to all my subbing jobs. When I add my spouse to my substitute teacher health insurance, it jumps from $40.00 per month to $400.00 per month (she gets no dental or vision with that).
So now I'm studying Special Education at PSU to increase my chances of finding a job. And how do you pay Special Education teachers based on Merit Pay when their student's testing is in a whole other world compared to the general ed. student population?
Teachers pay hasn't even kept up with inflation. And anyone who criticizes teachers' complaints with the argument of great summer vacations simply can't argue against cost of living raises. Nobody would argue against that. And teacher pay simply hasn't come even close to these increases in cost of living.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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And why does my pregnant wife, after qualifying financially for the Oregon Health Plan, get denied anything but emergency coverage simply because she is not a U.S. citizen? She's a permanent resident, married to an American. To me this is blatant discrimination.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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