To the editor:
I have worked in public education for over 20 years, first as a school librarian and more recently as a substitute teacher. I discovered early on that many teachers spent hundreds of dollars of their own money to buy books, craft supplies, posters, tissues and other materials for their classrooms.
Teachers bought snacks to keep on hand for their students who came to school without them. When a student came to school without a winter coat or boots, their teacher always found a way to get these things for their kids. The teachers and staff that I encountered didn’t view teaching as a job but as a calling.
After school, staff meetings, curriculum meetings, and student clubs kept most teachers at school for hours after the school day was over. One colleague and I ran a robotics club that met after school and had meets on weekends. One teacher organized a car wash on the weekend to help defray the cost of a school trip that she knew some families couldn’t afford.
Lately, I keep hearing politicians in New Hampshire demonizing teachers and public schools. In fact, those who would like to defund education have gotten Question #2 on every ballot in the town and city this November. Voting yes would cap public school funding at a time when public schools, like all of us, are dealing with steeply rising costs for fuel, health insurance, food and supplies. There is a better way to lower property taxes. The state must pay its fair share of public education costs for every student, instead of continuing to pass these costs down to local taxpayers. Please vote No on Question #2 to save our schools and force the state to pay its fair share.
- Ginna Schonwald,
Barrington
A New Hampshire Press Association member