Show pride in Canfield schools

Show pride in Canfield schools

A number of weeks ago, we were invited to co-chair the school levy committee for 4.9 mills. We viewed it as a privilege. It was an opportunity to be involved in community service and revisit the purpose of and responses to passing the levy.

There are two parallels that come to mind when thinking about our community and our schools. First, it behooves us to think about the reason(s) we moved to Canfield. And secondly, with the current economy being what it is, how do we re-adjust our households to support our needs and the school system as well?

Those of us with families, those of us who are single, those of us on fixed incomes share the pride of living in a safe, viable community. We have a penchant for keeping our homes and properties beautiful. We value giving back to our community through the various groups and opportunities to serve. We love where we live.

We take pride in our school system. We have passionate discourse on the significant role it plays in our community and more importantly in the lives of our children. We may not always agree — but we do acknowledge the valuable education our children receive. We are active participants in the schools. We volunteer and we enjoy and are proud of the accomplishments that our students bring to the forefront through their academic, fine arts and athletic endeavors.

You have received all the pertinent information regarding the levy — you know the numbers, the need and the necessities to keep our school system in good stead.

We are all sharing the challenges of the current economy. Everyone’s budget has been compromised — business, churches, households and schools. We have been challenged to do or make more with less; a compelling reality.

We have seen the proof of how school budgets are mandated to do more with less money from the state. We have witnessed the results of how dependent the school system is on the community for support. We have confidence that our schools will maintain the quality we have come to expect. Just as in our homes — re-adjustments have had to be made. All of us are feeling the impact. It is not the intention of this letter to belabor the issues — we are all living the issues at hand.

Please take a look at the pride you have in your school system. Perhaps you have family members who are graduates. Perhaps you have neighbors who are currently enrolled. Perhaps you have friends that are on staff. Perhaps your little one is just beginning his or her journey. Please think about the responsibility that we have to our children and the legacy that we leave.

Please vote yes on Nov. 8.

Roseanne Peluso and Traci DeCapua, Canfield

The writers are co-chairwomen of the Canfield Local Schools Levy Committee.

Some new math on teacher pay

In a Wednesday letter to the editor, “Don’t reverse progress in Ohio,” the writer calculates that teachers make close to $70 an hour with compensation and benefits.

I am not in favor of reversing progress in Ohio. However, I am in favor of reversing the writer’s math.

He does not factor into the equation the considerable hours teachers put into their job while they are not teaching in the classroom. When teachers get home from school, their workday doesn’t stop. There is homework and tests to be graded, as well drawing up lesson plans for forthcoming classes.

According to the Ohio Education Association, the average salary for a beginning teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $30,962. I have friends who are high school teachers making less than that. They work at Applebee’s and J.C. Penney during the summer. These teachers are living paycheck to paycheck. They earn nowhere near the $70 an hour that Wednesday’s letter claims they make.

The calculations are askew. If anything, we should be paying our educators more. Teaching is one of the most challenging jobs in the world.

Issue 2 will only make their jobs more difficult. Issue 2 prevents teachers from negotiating for smaller class sizes. Studies have shown students with smaller class sizes perform better. Therefore, the passage of Issue 2 would have a negative impact on the education of our children.

I will be voting no on Issue 2, and encourage other folks to do the same.

Michael Dukes, Toronto

The writer is a student at Youngstown State University.

Why pull others down?

A letter to the editor pub- lished Friday made eight complaints about public employee pay and benefits.

The writer and some Vindicator editorial writers are people who would rather take away what someone else has instead of attempting to get the same things for themselves

I speak from experience, having been a Marine for four years, a public employee for five, a private enterprise employee in large and small business for more than 40 years and unemployed for a total of one year.

Those who would cry about and try to take away what public employees have rather than go out and get the same for themselves should man up and better themselves or quit complaining.

Daniel Scudier, Youngstown