Dear Editor,
Kudos to Matthew Claxton on an excellent column [Spend and save for cheap teachers, July 17 Painful Truth, Langley Advance].
The “buyout†idea is one that has occurred in the past. It’s an excellent idea.
Also, his column has been one of only a few that states the actual facts about teacher salaries. Most articles have teacher salaries much higher than they actually are.
Many people do not realize that school administrators – superintendents, senior management, principals, and vice-principals – hold valid teaching certificates, and thus add to the number of qualified teachers in the province.
However, they do not teach – with the exception of some elementary vice-principals who teach a percentage of time.
And because administrators hold teaching certificates, their wages are often included when average the teacher’s salary is calculated.
Administrators’ annual salaries of over $100,000 skew the teacher’s average salary.
Michele Dietrich, via email