6% Teachers Raise Comes at Bad Time

Something is really wrong with a system that allows the Las Virgenes school district to give its teachers a 6% raise at a time when it is so desperate for money that it is increasing class sizes, cutting student programs and considering a parcel tax to help ease its deficit.

The school board already gave the go-ahead to spend $50,000 on a consultant to try to win property owners’ approval of the tax. You would think that the district could find less costly means to find out if the already overburdened property owners would be willing to pay for the 6% raise the teachers just got.

There are many excellent teachers in this district. There are also many poor teachers who are either burnt out or so set in their ineffective teaching methods that they are afraid to try new ways to improve their communication skills. Their jobs are well protected by tenure and by their union.

These ineffective teachers will get the same 6% raise as the effective teachers, so where is the incentive to improve teaching skills?

DIANE VENABLE, Agoura Hills