Educators' salaries: Taking sides

I don’t understand why Newsday periodically makes Long Island educators’ salaries front-page news “7 of the state’s top earning educators are from LI,” News, Nov. 17]. Other newsworthy front-page headlines could eclipse headlines about teacher salaries. Many might feel the high cost of food today, social injustice, hunger, and medical advances, for example, are certainly more deserving of the cover.

Is Newsday intimating that teachers and supervising educators do not deserve their salaries?

I dare any nonteaching or non-supervising adult to engage and teach a classroom — or multiple classrooms — of 25-35 children nearly 10 months a year, year after year, for any amount of money. Similarly, I dare any non-educator in the position of superintendent to supervise hundreds of teachers and the education of thousands of students without commensurate remuneration.

If we trust our children — our most precious gifts — to be in the care of their educators at least seven or eight hours per day, five days a week for nearly 10 months a year, shouldn’t they be paid well?

We pay doctors, mechanics, plumbers, electricians — to name just a few occupations — very well to take care of us, our cars, our toilets and electrical systems. And many of them should be paid well. So, why not our educators?

— Melody Jacobs, Floral Park

When I saw the front-page headline “Educators Who Make $330G,” my initial reaction was “Wow!” But then I thought about it.

Salaries of athletes, entertainers, and hedge fund managers dwarf those of educators. While they play a significant role in our society, is it more significant than the education of our children?

Many students graduating from our schools and universities are attracted to high-paying jobs in technology and finance rather than education. That leaves educational institutions at a competitive disadvantage, not good for a country that aspires to be a world leader.

On the other hand, I’ve read statistics that do not speak well of the education of our students in elementary and high schools, which spills over into our institutions of higher learning.

Considering a salary of $300,000 when the cost of living on Long Island is among the highest in New York State, I don’t think our educators are overpaid.

— John A. Viteritti, Laurel

Newsday continues to whip the “dead horse” when it comes to this subject. Nothing will change the educators’ salaries structure on Long Island, and I’m sure these individuals feel their salaries are justified. All that articles like this accomplish is to infuriate the public, most of whom don’t earn nearly that much and whose taxes support those educators’ salaries.

— Mike Baard, Merrick

The article seems to suggest that these salaries are somehow excessive, even placing the story with a “Newsday Investigates” label. As a business owner and a father who has raised three children in an excellent Long Island school district, Commack, I’d like to offer a different perspective.

Take the Roslyn school superintendent, Allison Brown, whose compensation is close to $400,000, for example. She oversees an annual budget of roughly $137 million. If she were running a private company of comparable size and complexity, her compensation would likely be several times higher — potentially in the millions.

When we consider the importance of these roles in shaping our children’s education, the responsibilities involved, and the scale at which these leaders operate, their salaries are not only reasonable but appropriate.

— Richard Isaac, Huntington

I wondered if it was a misprint when Newsday reported that Hank Grishman, the retired Jericho school superintendent, negotiated a contract that gave him 54 sick days a year, available to be cashed in upon retirement? One sick day per week? Not bad. Was the school board aware of this perk? If so, the taxpayers should be up in arms.

Experts say the high salaries and perks reflect the high cost of living on Long Island. Maybe we have it backward. These overly generous benefits are what creates the high cost of living. Maybe it’s time to privatize education on Long Island. I don’t know how much longer we are going to be able to afford this.

— Joe Kennedy, Syosset

If the educators did this legitimately, what do we value more as a society? Someone who educates our children or someone who can hit a ball through an infield hole? Do we want quality education for the next generation, or is it more important to make sure that we are entertained? I think we have lost our way and need to reevaluate our priorities.

— Nina Herschberg, Cedarhurst

It is nothing short of abuse of taxpayers’ money, compounded by ineffective school boards, an insatiable desire for money multiplied by greed and poor excuses for not taking vacation but accruing it. How in the world do people accumulate vacation time when they get the summer off and all the other school holidays?

Long Island taxpayers repeatedly get taken for an expensive ride. Gluttony and greed are sins. When is enough enough?

— Anthony Tanzi, Mastic Beach