Retired teacher: NC doesn’t treat its most experienced teachers well

NC teacher pay

The writer taught in N.C. schools from 2000 -2015.

Regarding “NC education leaders defend new teacher compensation model, saying it’s not merit pay,” (April 6):

State School Board member Olivia Oxendine said: “Somewhere out there from Murphy to Manteo, there is this feeling that experience doesn’t matter, that the veteran teacher is disregarded. I don’t know where (that’s) coming from.”

I can tell you. I am a retired teacher and, during the last seven years of my employment, my salary was frozen. At first, we were all happy to take our hit because of a sluggish economy due to the market crash. But when the economy improved veteran teachers were ignored. As less experienced and new teachers received raises, articles made it seem raises went to all teachers. They did not.

As a veteran teacher, I took on many extra tasks, held leadership roles, and won awards year after year. So, if the State Board doesn’t know where this notion of veteran teachers being disregarded comes from, let me enlighten them!

Melanie Walker, Raleigh

Burr and Tillis

Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis had an historic opportunity to truly make us feel proud — all of us, no matter our color or political creed — by voting to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court and they blew it. They are on the wrong side of history, and have earned that negative legacy by their obstructions and poor performance. I cannot wait to be rid of both of them.

Theresa W. Moore, Raleigh

Judiciary hearings

I agree with the April 4 Opinion writer who said the way some Republicans treated Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during the hearings “reflected a sad reality.” But I have additional concerns about how she was treated.

During the hearings, Sen. Lindsey Graham complained that Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh were treated meanly by Democrats as nominees. Then, Graham proceeded to do to Jackson what he had berated Democrats for doing.

In the cases of Thomas and Kavanaugh, the controversies arose from initial complaints from private citizens. Neither Anita Hill nor Christine Blasey Ford were politicians, and both were credible witnesses.

Jackson’s treatment by Republican senators, who clearly know better, seemed to reflect pandering to their political base. If that is the case, we should ask: Who are they? What kinds of justices do they want? What vision of America do they hold? I am concerned that the answers to those questions are far more troubling.

Randolph Rodgers, Raleigh

Court term limits

Republicans on Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed what we all knew to be true: the U.S. Supreme Court is just another political branch of government. The Court is divided by party into Republican and Democrat no less than the House or Senate. Acknowledging that, it seems obvious that term limits are now required. We cannot have an entire branch of government legislating from the bench, liberal or conservative, with no recourse for the citizenry.

Leo Sadovy, Wake Forest

A US apology

I am proud of our nation’s support of the people of Ukraine. However, our moral authority to oppose Russia’s illegal and corrupt invasion is undermined by our own history that includes the illegal and corrupt invasion of Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations should address this “elephant in the room.” She should apologize for our invasion of an independent, sovereign nation and explain that it was based on faulty intelligence. It was a mistake. The world knows this. Our failure to acknowledge this unfortunate fact diminishes our credibility to respond to the even more grievous catastrophe in Ukraine.

Michael Owen, Chapel Hill

A stealth coup

In his April 7 Opinion column, Leonard Pitts wrote clearly and succinctly about the “stealth coup” against our democracy. I agree that a democratic government must answer to the people.

So may we consider these improvements? How about feeding our citizenry, respecting our teachers and each other, cleaning up our environments, making voting and paying taxes fair and easy, caring for the mentally and physically challenged, regulating pharmaceutical and insurance industries and reforming and simplifying our health care system. And just perhaps, making our elections less of an embarrassing spectacle by shortening the season and limiting spending.

Karen Wiebe, Raleigh

Street names

While Frank Hyman is pushing for changing some Durham street names (April 5 Opinion), might Durham also consider changing the names of these streets that confuse tourists and some residents?

Durham has two Chapel Hill Roads and one Chapel Hill Boulevard. Also, Trent Drive can be confusing. I take the Trent Drive Exit off the Durham Freeway and find myself on the Duke University campus when I want to be on the portion of Trent Drive that intersects Main Street. Maybe that Trent extension to the campus could get a new name?

Changing street names won’t alter the heinous parts of our history for which we need reminders, but it can help the confused driver.

Deborah Brogden, Durham

This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Retired teacher: NC doesn’t treat its most experienced teachers well."