Marianne Villalobos: Teachers sacrificed during recession, deserve a raise

Re: “Teachers, residents rally before board members” (Page 1A, Feb. 10): In covering the Modesto City Schools Board meeting, The Bee got it wrong again. Teachers sacrificed during the recession and have yet to see a return. Total compensation decreased: a teacher with spouse and child pays about $2,000 in health insurance. Since 2009, classified staff grew 18.3 percent, managers grew 19.3 percent, but there are 5.2 percent fewer teachers. Class sizes have increased, causing increased workloads for teachers and decreased benefits for students.

The core issue is reasonable preparation time for elementary teachers. Teachers have two 30-minute slots per week to take students to the tech room, run a few copies, rush back to return students to class. Teaching takes a back seat to superfluous testing. Instead, teachers sacrifice countless hours and money to provide students the education they deserve.

The district proposes to fund increased prep periods exclusively from teachers’ salaries, reducing the 4 percent increase to 2.5 percent. A lavish stadium and swimming pool were built, and now that teachers are making reasonable demands, the board looks to crumbling west side schools and announces the need for $1 billion in repairs. Board members will be held accountable when they run for re-election.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Marianne Villalobos: Teachers sacrificed during recession, deserve a raise."