...says the man with the $227k+ golden parachute.

So the teachers break even for a change. Is there a plan to get them a real living wage? How about a compromise plan to provide them the materials needed to do their job in a professional manner? Like maybe provide access to books assigned to literature classes?

Teachers should be paid more, so should the teacher assistants and custodians. The business model, "peanuts for elephants" bonus approach to compensation in public education is absurdist comedy. Plus they don't work anyway.

All workers within the school system should be making a living wage to start, period. The wage system should build up from that across all job descriptions in the system.

Anyone who has spent minute or two in a classroom knows that teachers assistants for example, particularly in a special education setting, are worth their weight in gold. Their payscale however reflects their weight in a much less valuable commodity.

EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS SALARY SCHEDULE 2015 - 2016
200 Day
Step Salary
0 $ 14,485
1 $ 14,950
2 $ 15,375
3 $ 15,810
4 $ 16,260
5 $ 16,715
6 $ 17,190
7 $ 17,670
8 $ 18,170
9 $ 18,685
10 $ 19,380
11 $ 20,100
12 $ 20,850
13 $ 21,620
14 $ 22,425

After FOURTEEN YEARS in the KCS system an educational assistant is making $1,875 UNDER the federal poverty level for a family of four.

How about the people who clean up our filth? Here's the custodial salary schedule with yearly samples.
Year Hourly Rate
0 $ 8.46
5 $ 9.79
10 $ 11.34
14 $ 13.10

In other news, how is Fred Smith's gas tax rebate doing for him? How much pay, how many services could this country afford in our public schools, in our community schools, if we spent as much as the next top five countries in military spending as opposed to the top seven we currently do now?