To the Editor:

Most of the talk regarding education has been about teacher pay, which is critical such that we can continue to recruit and maintain highly qualified teachers. Certainly, North Carolina teachers deserve better pay; it is also important to consider all of the support that contributes to teacher effectiveness and student learning at the local level.

Classroom teachers in Haywood County schools could not do the work they do without the assistance of the educational support staff.  The Transportation Department maintains our buses and the bus drivers safely transport our students as they travel to and from school each day.  The child nutrition program provides breakfast and lunch for students and staff on a daily basis. The custodians clean our schools and take care of the school grounds.  The maintenance department works to keep schools running and safe. Instructional assistants work directly with our students and teachers to provide a quality education for our students. Central office and school-based administrators along with administrative assistants work diligently to ensure schools have the support they need. 

I have not named all the educational support staff, but my point is they also play a critical role in educating our students. These dedicated employees continue to do a great job even with the budget cuts. 

While the budget did provide raises for many North Carolina teachers, keep in mind that the state’s budget also provided pay raises for other public school educational support staff. However, whereas most state employees received $1,000 and five bonus days for the 2014/2015 school year, our non-certified public school employees and central office staff received a $500 pay raise for the 2014/2015 school year and no bonus days. This equates to $41 a month for a 12-month employee. I have a difficult time rationalizing how our legislators think it is OK to do this to our educational support staff. How do you explain to a school custodian that he/she will receive $500 while a custodian cleaning the executive mansion receives $1,000 and 5 bonus days?  

I say thanks to educators and educational support staff for their dedication. Please keep our educators, educational support staff, and most importantly our students in mind as you vote on Nov. 4.  

Candie Sellers

Candidate for Haywood School Board