Frank Lordi – 2/19/06

This page was last updated on February 19, 2006.

Pinching pennies on teachers; Frank Lordi; Beaver County Times; February 19, 2006.

An editor’s note alleges, “The writer is a member of the Lawrence County Republican Committee serving the First Ward of Ellwood City.”

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Education, like any business venture, requires investment and wise management in order to produce an end result. In the case of our school system this result is a well-educated young adult.

“Indeed, education is an investment heavy venture. A given school district must invest in construction and maintenance, computers, electronics, books, paper, pencils, utility bills and so forth.

“However, the world of business teaches us that throwing money at a situation is simply not enough. Expenditures must be prioritized and managed. Knowing this, it is difficult to understand why little fuss is raised over the cost of the incidentals mentioned above, yet when it comes to the most important part of the equation - the teacher - everyone wants to pinch pennies.

“School districts often waste thousands of dollars on poor facility management, top-heavy administrational structures and untested equipment, yet commonly seek to squeeze everything they can from the well-educated, hard-working professionals who form the bedrock of our educational system.

“In conclusion, I would like to point out that students can learn without the latest computer or smart board, but when a quality teacher is lacking… Well, I shall leave the reader to draw his or her own conclusion on the point.”

[RWC] I won’t get into the topic of teacher pay relative to other careers, but as of 2003, Pennsylvania teachers were the highest paid in the U.S.