District teachers speak out

The Tehachapi Association of Teachers and the Tehachapi Unified School District have been in contract negotiations for the current school year for many months. Negotiations continue and the Teachers Association hopes for a fair settlement. At the recent school board meeting several district teachers spoke with this writer regarding their concerns.

Keely Lowe, a second grade teacher from Cummings Valley Elementary said, “I feel teachers add a lot of value to our community. We are very hard working and we need to get regular cost of living raises just like anyone else.”

Twenty-five year plus teaching veteran Terry Podmeyer said, “I found an old pay stub of what I made eleven years ago from another district. I made more then that what I’m currently being paid right now.”

Paula Macon has also been teaching for twenty-five plus years. Says Macon, “We care tremendously for our students and we put in time and effort after school and during our lunches for kids that need extra help and support. We are not being respected or treated like professionals. We all love what we do but when you’re constantly given the runaround it’s really difficult to respect yourself and your career. A pat on the back is nice and the best thing in the world is to hear a student say they love you but compensation is what pays the bills. We haven’t had that compensation for years.”

“I feel like teachers are highly undervalued in this community,” said Amber Dickinson. “We are not given credit for the work we do outside of school hours. We are on the front lines of the children of this community’s education everyday. Out of the 12 comparable districts surrounding us, our pay is at the bottom. We are 12 out of 12. Qualified, very amazing teachers are leaving to go to other districts. No one wants to come to a district where you feel undervalued and unappreciated.”

The co-president of TAT, says the association continues to have concerns about recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. “Many of us have devoted our lives to Tehachapi Unified School District and the children of Tehachapi. We want to see that work continue and we want families to move here with confidence in their education.”

During the meeting Ann Chiarini, a teacher from Cummings Elementary, received a standing ovation after her moving speech entitled “I have a dream”. She expressed the concerns and needs of teachers throughout the district. Chiarini said, “I have a dream that this year our teacher of the year, or any other teacher, won’t seek employment at another district. I have a dream that our teachers will get a well earned raise so that we won’t lose anymore teachers to neighboring better paying districts. Because, you know what happens when great teachers go elsewhere? Everyone loses. The students won’t receive that wealth of knowledge that years of teaching bring to each student. The school loses the powerhouse, the rock, the stability that comes with years of fine tuning the teaching craft.”