Response to guest commentary
There is a crisis in our schools! Low pay, staff shortages and a difficult school climate have all contributed to a record numbers of educator departures in Nevada.
Across our nation, there are literally thousands of vacancies in our schools regarding teachers, paraprofessionals and student support employees.
In response to this educational emergency, the NSEA launched “Time For 20”- a program that calls for smaller class sizes, pay increases and viable starting salaries for entry level employees begin their careers in education.
Fortunately, legislators within the state of Nevada have built record financial surpluses and are currently considering a proposal to build the state’s” Rainy-Day Fund” in conjunction with the Nevada Education Stabilization Fund, with a goal of reaching $2.4 billion dollars which would be in addition to the current available funding of $300 million dollars
Our Nevada Legislators are meeting in Carson City to decide whether they should save these funds in a reserve account or instead, invest in our schools now with the ultimate goal of continuous improvement throughout our entire educational system.
The answer is simple: INVEST IN EDUCATION!!!
There is a real and frightening shortage of teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, maintenance workers, bus drivers and educational stakeholders across our entire nation.
Contributing to this critical labor shortage in education is directly tied to the continuous issue of low wages in throughout the public education system, many of our educators and support staff work multiple jobs including nights and weekends just to meet the most basic daily demands of life and the challenges that we all face.
Across the state Nevada, far too many educators are forced to leave a profession that they truly love and are passionate about , in order to earn what most of us agree is a necessary living wage.
Coupled with the rise of inflation, the continued cost of living increases are factors that many of our educators find too difficult to manage and thus search for new careers outside of the field of education.
Due to the shortages in staff, classrooms are being filled with long-term and short- term substitute teachers, many of whom have very minimal training in the field of education, compounding the struggles of our students to make up valuable class time that has been missed due to no fault of their own over the last several years.
Our most precious assets of all-Our Children! are being denied appropriate instruction and learning opportunities and we absolutely must do better
Far too many of our teachers and educational support staff employees are forced to find better paying positions elsewhere.
We need to do everything in our power to retain our best and recruit and hire the very best educators for our children and we have to start immediately.
Please support” Time for 20” and let our legislators know that the $2.4 billion dollars available now needs to be used now. We don’t need to save for a “Rainy Day” when it is pouring in Nevada!
Andrea Kelly
Humboldt County Support Staff Organization President.