Eric Gibbons, of Bordentown
Summer is here and many think that this is the greatest time to be a teacher, and good reason to pounce on their pensions and benefits — hey, while we’re at it, let’s go after those firefighters and police, too!
Summers as a teacher often means more work. People forget there is curriculum to write, programs to overhaul, lessons to improve, educational courses we ourselves must take, and second jobs to do to make it through the summers and feed our own children.
When I became a teacher, I knew the pay would be modest starting at about $18,000 per year, but the nice thing about it was I got some nice health benefits and a decent pension to look forward to. So yes the work would be hard, never-ending really, but my choice of career, to help the children of our communities, was a noble path that would keep me comfortable as a middle-class taxpayer.
Though I do not put my life on the line like my police and firefighter brothers, I know as a teacher I can point to four children I have saved from the brink of suicide — YOUR children. I also fight racism, bullying and teasing on a daily basis, which my students will readily attest to.
It is not our fault that the state chose to ignore its responsibilities and pay their promised share into the pension system, but now we all know they have a problem on their hands. Because teachers did not support the election of Gov. Christie, who doesn’t even use the public school system for his children, we are under attack. Without warning or due notice, my wages have already been garnished 1.5 percent and now Gov. Christie and Senator Steve Sweeney want to take thousands more from me and my colleagues.
We are middle-class people, with mortgages and taxes to pay. We buy local and support our economy. Gov. Christie has already gutted budgets, with schools losing 20 percent of their employees or more. I teach 20 percent more children in each class because of these cuts. Do I get 20 percent more funds to teach additional children? NO. The impact is significant and is getting worse.
I pray that my own government representatives, Senator Robert Singer and Assemblymen Ron Dancer and Joe Malone will vote NO on S2937. This proposal is a knife in the backs of the people who directly serve our communities. With a little searching on Google, one can find a multitude of other options to this crisis. But see it for what it is, an attack on teachers, police, and our firefighter heroes.
